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: cell · cold · tear · snap · branch · court

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. branch — a division
  3. cold — an illness
  4. snap — to click
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cold — not warm
  7. court — of a king
  8. tear — from crying
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. court — for sport
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tear — from crying
  17. court — of law
  18. tear — to rip

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