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: ruler · cold · prune · spring · branch · dip · net · present

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — an illness
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. cold — not warm
  7. branch — a division
  8. present — the time now
  9. net — for catching
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. present — there
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. present — a gift
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. prune — to trim
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. ruler — for measuring

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