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: game · branch · cold · club · lie · fan

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. club — for dancing
  3. game — wild animals
  4. lie — to recline
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. club — a group
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. club — for golf

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