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 · cold · wave · last · kid · pitch · fan · scale

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. scale — size or range
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. kid — child
  11. branch — a division
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. last — to go on
  17. pitch — completely
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. last — final
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. last — finally
  24. scale — in music

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