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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. file — a tool
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. branch — a division
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. shower — rain
  11. file — a document
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. kid — to tease
  15. chair — a leader
  16. shower — to wash
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. file — a line of people

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