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: cold · pitcher · key · fan · ground · wake · branch · lash

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. key — in music
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — a trail
  7. branch — a division
  8. cold — an illness
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. key — for a lock
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. ground — a position
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. key — the most important part

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