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 · fan · charge · file · wound · branch · land · drill

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. drill — the tool
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. game — wild animals
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. land — ground
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wound — an injury
  11. charge — a price
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — army training
  14. file — a tool
  15. charge — electricity
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. land — a country
  20. file — a document
  21. charge — in control
  22. land — to come down
  23. wound — an injury
  24. branch — a division

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