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: swing · bear · wind · spring · snap · branch · game · bark

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. spring — a coil
  11. game — a match
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. swing — to play on
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bear — the animal
  18. snap — to click
  19. swing — in golf
  20. spring — of water
  21. swing — music
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. branch — a division
  24. spring — the season

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