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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. shower — rain
  5. chest — a box
  6. pop — soda
  7. ground — crushed
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. row — to paddle
  14. ground — the earth
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. capital — money
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. shower — to wash
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. capital — a city
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pop — music
  23. ground — a position
  24. pop — to visit

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