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: pound · bowl · cold · drill · mark · bat · branch · squash

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. cold — not warm
  3. drill — army training
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. branch — a division
  10. mark — a trace
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bat — the animal
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. cold — an illness

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