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 116 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: prune · leaves · racket · cold · tear · file · chip · branch

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. chip — for betting
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. cold — not warm
  7. tear — from crying
  8. prune — to trim
  9. chip — to eat
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cold — an illness
  12. prune — to trim
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. file — a tool
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. branch — a division
  20. tear — to rip
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. leaves — to go away

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