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: cell · wound · press · spring · cold · pop · hand · branch

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. hand — in cards
  3. pop — to visit
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. press — newspapers
  8. cold — not warm
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. cold — an illness
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. hand — help
  16. cell — a phone
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — to push
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. branch — a division
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pop — soda
  23. cell — in biology
  24. spring — a coil

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