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: land · shower · spring · bat · present · branch · club · kid

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. spring — of water
  4. kid — child
  5. shower — to wash
  6. club — for dancing
  7. spring — the season
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. club — for golf
  10. shower — rain
  11. club — a group
  12. land — to come down
  13. spring — a coil
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. land — ground
  16. kid — to tease
  17. land — a country
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bat — the animal
  21. present — there
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — the time now

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