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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. season — of the year
  3. capital — a city
  4. key — the most important part
  5. rest — a break
  6. cold — not warm
  7. spell — a short time
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rush — hurry
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. spell — magic
  12. rest — what's left
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. spell — letters
  15. season — in sport
  16. key — in music
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. shower — rain
  20. cold — an illness
  21. key — for a lock
  22. capital — money
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rush — a thrill

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