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 120 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: root · fall · hand · branch · pop · degree · bass · tear

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. degree — from a university
  4. root — of a plant
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. degree — an amount
  7. hand — in cards
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a word
  11. bass — low music
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pop — soda
  16. pop — to visit
  17. bass — the fish
  18. branch — a division
  19. degree — temperature
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hand — help
  22. fall — to drop
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fall — the season

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