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: pop · track · court · branch · cold · pitch · tube · cell

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. tube — the underground
  11. branch — a division
  12. court — of a king
  13. pop — music
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. pop — soda
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pitch — completely
  19. court — for sport
  20. tube — a container
  21. track — a song
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. court — of law
  24. track — to keep track

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