ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: branch · scale · wind · fork · chest · bear

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. scale — size or range
  4. chest — of your body
  5. branch — a division
  6. wind — moving air
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. scale — in music
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bear — the animal
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bear — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com