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 116 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: stick · branch · kid · scale · cell · land · pop · straw

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. land — ground
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. kid — child
  7. pop — music
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. land — to come down
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. scale — in music
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pop — soda
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pop — to visit
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. land — a country
  24. straw — a straw man

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