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 116 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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. vault — a safe
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cold — an illness
  8. capital — money
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. kid — to tease
  12. club — for dancing
  13. wound — an injury
  14. club — for golf
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wound — an injury
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. cold — not warm
  19. capital — a city
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. club — a group
  23. kid — child
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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