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: clip · band · branch · roll · lash · shower · rash · chair

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. roll — a cake
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. roll — a list
  7. branch — a division
  8. chair — a leader
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. rash — a series
  11. clip — for paper
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. band — a ring
  17. clip — a video
  18. band — a music group
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. shower — rain
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. clip — to cut

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