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: net · rest · branch · clip · spell · season · content · tear

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. spell — a short time
  3. tear — from crying
  4. content — happy
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. net — after costs
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. tear — from crying
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — a division
  13. clip — for paper
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — letters
  16. season — of the year
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rest — what's left
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. tear — to rip
  21. clip — a video
  22. season — in sport
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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