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: row · stock · tear · nail · branch · patient · mine · spell

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. tear — to rip
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. stock — goods
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. stock — shares
  14. row — a line
  15. tear — from crying
  16. branch — a division
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spell — magic
  19. mine — for digging
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. spell — letters
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. spell — a short time

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