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 116 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: patient · land · current · pitcher · craft · cell · bear · wound

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cell — a phone
  5. land — to come down
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. land — a country
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. craft — boats
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. land — ground
  17. bear — the animal
  18. current — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. current — happening now
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wound — an injury

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