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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. shower — rain
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. present — there
  5. land — a country
  6. ball — a dance
  7. clip — a video
  8. land — to come down
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. shower — to wash
  11. ball — a great time
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. clip — for paper
  16. club — a group
  17. present — a gift
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wake — a trail
  20. present — the time now
  21. club — for dancing
  22. clip — to cut
  23. club — for golf
  24. patient — a sick person

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