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: cap · trunk · pitcher · row · firm · march · shower · patient

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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. cap — a hat
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. firm — steady
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. shower — to wash
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. cap — a lid
  11. march — music
  12. row — to paddle
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. march — the month
  15. firm — decided
  16. firm — a company
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cap — of ice
  20. march — the month
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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