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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rule — a law
  5. court — of a king
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. shower — rain
  10. rule — government
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. capital — money
  14. last — to go on
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. last — final
  18. court — of law
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. fall — the season
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. court — for sport
  23. capital — a city
  24. last — finally

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