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

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. can — a tin
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. march — the month
  13. capital — a city
  14. march — music
  15. wake — a trail
  16. march — the month
  17. can — to be able to
  18. shower — rain
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. can — a tin
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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