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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. row — a line
  4. rush — hurry
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. spring — the season
  7. row — to paddle
  8. roll — a cake
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. tube — a container
  12. shower — rain
  13. bank — for money
  14. tube — the underground
  15. shower — to wash
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. spring — of water
  18. bank — of a river
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. spring — a coil
  23. roll — a list
  24. bank — for money

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