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: shower · ground · bat · branch · mark · rash · ball · chip

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. ground — the earth
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. chip — for betting
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. ball — a great time
  12. rash — a series
  13. branch — a division
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. ground — a position
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. mark — a trace
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. rash — hasty
  23. mark — a grade
  24. ball — a dance

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