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: face · rash · rush · cold · drill · season · branch · wound

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rash — hasty
  5. drill — the tool
  6. rush — hurry
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. drill — a practice
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cold — an illness
  13. branch — a division
  14. drill — army training
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cold — not warm
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. face — to confront
  20. rash — a series
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. face — to point toward
  23. season — in sport
  24. face — part of the head

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