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: staff · game · branch · degree · straw · cell · stock · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. game — wild animals
  3. staff — a stick
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. degree — temperature
  6. staff — employees
  7. tube — a container
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stock — shares
  10. degree — from a university
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. cell — in biology
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — a division
  20. degree — an amount
  21. tube — the underground
  22. staff — employees
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. stock — goods

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