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 120 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: wax · dip · saw · cold · spring · degree · branch · rash

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. saw — the tool
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wax — to grow
  7. degree — an amount
  8. branch — a division
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cold — not warm
  14. dip — to sink
  15. saw — the tool
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — hasty
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. wax — for sculpting

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