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: spring · pitch · rash · hide · squash · band · land · branch

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. spring — a coil
  3. band — a ring
  4. spring — the season
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. pitch — completely
  7. rash — hasty
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. rash — a series
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. band — a music group
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. branch — a division
  17. squash — the sport
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. land — ground
  22. spring — of water
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. branch — of a tree

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