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 116 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: bay · cold · wake · branch · hand · object · sharp · track

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. object — an aim
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wake — a trail
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. hand — help
  10. track — to keep track
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. object — to protest
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — a division
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — clever
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. cold — not warm
  23. object — a thing
  24. track — a path

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