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: shower · chest · wave · squash · court · safe · land · capital

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. land — a country
  4. court — of law
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. land — ground
  11. capital — money
  12. shower — to wash
  13. chest — a box
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. court — of a king
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. court — for sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. safe — a strongbox
  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