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 · date · capital · shower · last · coach · kick · rule

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. shower — rain
  3. kick — in football
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. rule — a law
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. game — wild animals
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. rule — government
  15. date — the fruit
  16. game — a match
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. shower — to wash
  21. last — to go on
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. last — finally

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