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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. capital — money
  3. charge — a price
  4. shower — rain
  5. object — a thing
  6. spring — a coil
  7. deal — to handle
  8. object — an aim
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. spring — of water
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. spring — the season
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. charge — electricity
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. capital — a city
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. object — to protest
  23. charge — in control
  24. capital — a big letter

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