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: kid · branch · snap · cold · scale · net · clip · squash

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the sport
  5. net — in sport
  6. cold — an illness
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. scale — size or range
  9. clip — a video
  10. scale — in music
  11. clip — to cut
  12. branch — a division
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. clip — for paper
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. cold — not warm
  17. kid — to tease
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to click
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. kid — child
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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