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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. rock — music
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rash — hasty
  7. kid — to tease
  8. shower — to wash
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rock — a stone
  18. capital — a city
  19. spell — letters
  20. capital — money
  21. rash — a series
  22. shower — rain
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. perch — for a bird

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