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: track · branch · chip · clip · stem · land · drill · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. clip — for paper
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chip — for betting
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. branch — a division
  7. stem — to come from
  8. clip — to cut
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. track — a song
  12. clip — a video
  13. land — to come down
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. drill — the tool
  16. track — a path
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. track — to keep track
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — army training
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. lean — to bend

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