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 · swing · land · pop · bark · lie · lean · clip

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. land — ground
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pop — to visit
  5. swing — music
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lie — to recline
  8. pop — soda
  9. clip — a video
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. swing — in golf
  13. branch — a division
  14. clip — to cut
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. lean — to bend
  17. land — a country
  18. pop — music
  19. bark — to shout
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. clip — for paper
  22. land — to come down
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lean — thin

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