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: court · cold · branch · scale · bear · wake · mate · rest

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. court — for sport
  3. cold — an illness
  4. scale — in music
  5. branch — a division
  6. wake — a trail
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. mate — a partner
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. court — of a king
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. court — of law
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mate — to breed
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mate — a friend
  23. scale — size or range
  24. rest — a break

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