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: saw · lash · pop · file · rash · branch · hand · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. rash — hasty
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pop — to visit
  6. branch — a division
  7. hand — in cards
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. pop — soda
  10. rash — a series
  11. content — the amount
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. saw — the tool
  16. hand — help
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. file — a document
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. pop — music
  24. branch — of a tree

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