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 120 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: bear · mate · cold · clip · branch · craft · game · prune

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mate — a partner
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. cold — not warm
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. game — a match
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bear — the animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. branch — a division
  11. bear — the animal
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. clip — a video
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. mate — a friend
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mate — to breed
  21. craft — boats
  22. craft — a skill
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cold — an illness

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