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

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. game — a match
  4. stand — to bear
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. fall — to drop
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. foot — a measure
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. fall — to drop
  15. file — a document
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bark — to shout
  18. file — a tool
  19. cell — a phone
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fall — the season

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