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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. roll — a cake
  4. shower — rain
  5. land — a country
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. shower — to wash
  9. land — ground
  10. pass — a permit
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. capital — a city
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. roll — a list
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. land — to come down
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pitcher — a jug

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