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: shower · capital · bay · spell · wound · snap · rule · march

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. snap — to click
  3. spell — magic
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rule — a law
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. capital — a city
  9. spell — a short time
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — government
  12. march — the month
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. march — the month
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. shower — to wash
  18. spell — letters
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. capital — money
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. march — music

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