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: shower · bat · ground · pit · cell · content · branch · snap

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. branch — a division
  3. pit — in a race
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. content — happy
  9. snap — to click
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cell — a phone
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cell — in biology
  15. shower — rain
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. pit — a hole
  18. shower — to wash
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. ground — a position
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. content — the amount
  24. cell — in a prison

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