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: band · calf · clip · bulb · deal · arm · rash · branch

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. clip — for paper
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. branch — a division
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bulb — for light
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. deal — to handle
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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