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: branch · hand · bank · bound · cold · spring · cue · pitcher

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. spring — the season
  4. bank — of a river
  5. cue — a hint
  6. bank — for money
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cold — an illness
  9. hand — help
  10. bound — certain
  11. bank — for money
  12. bound — obliged
  13. cue — a signal
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bound — tied together
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cue — for pool
  21. spring — of water
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. branch — a division

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