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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. capital — a city
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. track — a path
  13. shower — to wash
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. last — to go on
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. roll — a cake
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. roll — a list
  23. capital — money
  24. vault — a safe

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