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: mug · shower · racket · capital · root · cold · bulb · date

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. shower — to wash
  3. root — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. mug — a face
  9. mug — a cup
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. capital — money
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mug — to rob
  15. cold — an illness
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. root — of a word
  19. capital — a city
  20. root — the cause
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. shower — rain

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