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 · cabinet · lean · shower · roll · game · mine · clip

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. roll — a list
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. clip — a video
  7. shower — rain
  8. game — a match
  9. mine — for digging
  10. lean — thin
  11. clip — for paper
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. lean — to bend
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. game — wild animals
  18. roll — a cake
  19. shower — to wash
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cabinet — ministers

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