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 120 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: pop · hand · branch · stock · tube · face · bear · cold

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bear — the animal
  3. tube — a container
  4. bear — the animal
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. face — part of the head
  7. stock — shares
  8. pop — soda
  9. stock — goods
  10. face — to confront
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. pop — music
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tube — the underground
  15. face — to point toward
  16. branch — a division
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cold — an illness
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. cold — not warm

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