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 116 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. shower — to wash
  3. sharp — clever
  4. object — a thing
  5. band — a ring
  6. object — to protest
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. saw — the tool
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. spring — the season
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. net — for catching
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. saw — the tool
  15. band — a music group
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. spring — of water
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. spring — a coil
  20. net — in sport
  21. shower — rain
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. net — after costs
  24. object — an aim

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