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: drill · capital · rock · chest · shower · pitcher · present · lash

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. rock — a stone
  5. capital — money
  6. rock — music
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. present — there
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. shower — to wash
  11. capital — a city
  12. shower — rain
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. chest — of your body
  15. present — the time now
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. drill — a practice
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. present — a gift
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. chest — a box
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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