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: craft · swing · tear · shower · cap · patient · pitch · race

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. swing — in golf
  3. cap — a hat
  4. craft — boats
  5. race — the arms race
  6. swing — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — humankind
  9. cap — of ice
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. tear — to rip
  12. race — a contest
  13. craft — a skill
  14. shower — to wash
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — to play on
  17. shower — rain
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cap — a lid
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pitch — completely

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