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 · rush · staff · branch · dip · arm · chest · shower

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. rush — hurry
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. branch — a division
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. chest — a box
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. staff — employees
  15. dip — to sink
  16. staff — employees
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. shower — rain
  20. staff — a stick
  21. chest — of your body
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rush — a thrill
  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