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: branch · shower · capital · tear · chair · court

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. chair — a leader
  4. court — of law
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. capital — money
  12. court — for sport
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. tear — from crying
  15. court — of a king
  16. branch — a division
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain

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