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: cold · wind · press · shower · plane · snap · branch · coach

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. press — a publisher
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wind — moving air
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. cold — not warm
  14. shower — rain
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. press — to push
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. press — newspapers
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. snap — to click
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. plane — a tool

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