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: lie · game · net · club · branch · tear · clip · scale

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. club — a group
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — for golf
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. scale — in music
  9. net — for catching
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. net — after costs
  14. branch — a division
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. lie — to recline
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. tear — to rip
  20. game — wild animals
  21. net — in sport
  22. clip — to cut
  23. game — a match
  24. scale — size or range

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