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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. capital — a city
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bound — tied together
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. file — a line of people
  8. spring — the season
  9. file — a document
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bound — obliged
  15. file — a tool
  16. spring — of water
  17. bound — certain
  18. current — of water
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. capital — money
  21. current — happening now
  22. tube — a container
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. current — electric

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