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: cell · drill · shower · branch · cold · lie · bear · rule

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. drill — a practice
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. drill — the tool
  10. rule — a law
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. cell — in biology
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bear — the animal
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bear — the animal
  20. rule — government
  21. shower — rain
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. branch — of a bank

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