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: chip · stock · pound · net · cold · cell · cue · branch

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cell — a phone
  9. net — for catching
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. chip — to eat
  13. stock — goods
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — a weight
  17. net — after costs
  18. cue — for pool
  19. branch — a division
  20. stock — shares
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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