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 · pound · face · roll · hand · scale · march · last

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. scale — size or range
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. face — to confront
  6. pound — a weight
  7. last — to go on
  8. face — to point toward
  9. last — finally
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. hand — in cards
  13. march — music
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. hand — help
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. face — part of the head
  22. roll — a list
  23. last — final
  24. scale — in music

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