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 · race · land · cold · bulb · bear · branch · tear

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. land — ground
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pop — to visit
  5. land — to come down
  6. cold — not warm
  7. race — a contest
  8. tear — from crying
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pop — soda
  12. race — humankind
  13. land — a country
  14. tear — to rip
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. tear — from crying
  22. branch — a division
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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