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: wind · tear · rash · face · branch · bat · board · rush

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. face — part of the head
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. board — a committee
  9. rash — hasty
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. tear — from crying
  12. face — to confront
  13. bat — the animal
  14. board — to get on
  15. rash — a series
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. face — to point toward
  23. branch — a division
  24. bat — in an idiom

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