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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. spring — a coil
  6. key — in music
  7. wake — a trail
  8. key — for a lock
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. spring — the season
  11. rush — hurry
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. spring — of water
  19. key — the most important part
  20. bark — to shout
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. game — wild animals
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. game — a match

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