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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bound — obliged
  4. snap — to click
  5. shower — rain
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wake — a trail
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. last — final
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. last — to go on
  13. cap — a lid
  14. tube — the underground
  15. shower — to wash
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. last — finally
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — certain
  24. cap — of ice

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