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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. land — to come down
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. land — ground
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bank — for money
  16. race — humankind
  17. bank — of a river
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. land — a country
  21. race — a contest
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. race — the arms race
  24. patient — a sick person

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