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: chair · rash · branch · cold · last · mouse · field · game

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rash — hasty
  5. game — a match
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. branch — a division
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. game — wild animals
  14. field — farmland
  15. rash — a series
  16. cold — not warm
  17. field — a subject
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. field — for sport
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. chair — a leader

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