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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: shower · snap · kick · patient · land · hand · coach · bulb

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. snap — to click
  6. land — ground
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. land — a country
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. hand — help
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bulb — for light
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bulb — for light
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. land — to come down

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