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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — to cut
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. land — to come down
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. land — ground
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. branch — a division
  19. land — a country
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. capital — money
  24. branch — of a tree

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