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: capital · stem · branch · stand · band · spring · craft · last

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stem — to come from
  5. last — final
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. band — a ring
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. spring — of water
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. band — a music group
  18. capital — money
  19. spring — the season
  20. capital — a city
  21. craft — a skill
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. craft — a handicraft

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