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 120 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: capital · cold · pit · craft · bat · fan · patient · bark

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bark — to shout
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — boats
  14. pit — a hole
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. capital — money
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. craft — a skill
  24. capital — a city

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