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: game · chest · band · rush · coach · perch · patient · shower

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. rush — hurry
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. game — a match
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. perch — the fish
  15. chest — of your body
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. shower — to wash
  19. band — a ring
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. game — wild animals
  23. band — a music group
  24. perch — for a bird

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