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 · lean · bark · straw · spell · mouse · temple · cold

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. spell — letters
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. spell — a short time
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. lean — to bend
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. spell — magic
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. lean — thin
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. bark — to shout

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