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: land · ground · kid · press · file · branch · track · spring

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. spring — of water
  3. ground — a position
  4. file — a tool
  5. land — a country
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — to push
  8. press — newspapers
  9. land — to come down
  10. spring — a coil
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. spring — the season
  14. file — a document
  15. track — a path
  16. track — to keep track
  17. ground — the earth
  18. land — ground
  19. branch — a division
  20. track — a song
  21. ground — crushed
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. branch — of a tree

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