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: march · wind · patient · branch · prune · clip · foot · file

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. clip — for paper
  6. foot — a measure
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. march — the month
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. clip — a video
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. clip — to cut
  16. file — a line of people
  17. branch — a division
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wind — moving air
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. foot — the bottom

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