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 · bowl · bound · last · kid · bat · stick · branch

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bound — tied together
  7. kid — child
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. net — after costs
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. last — to go on
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bound — certain
  16. net — in sport
  17. branch — a division
  18. bat — the animal
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. net — for catching
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bowl — a dish

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