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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. scale — size or range
  3. capital — money
  4. shower — rain
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a partner
  7. scale — in music
  8. band — a ring
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. capital — a city
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tube — the underground
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. mate — a friend
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — a container
  21. row — to paddle
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. band — a music group
  24. tear — from crying

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