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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. snap — to click
  3. present — the time now
  4. roll — a cake
  5. key — for a lock
  6. tear — from crying
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — in music
  9. last — finally
  10. present — a gift
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. present — there
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. tear — to rip
  17. shower — rain
  18. roll — a list
  19. tear — from crying
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. last — to go on
  22. shower — to wash
  23. last — final
  24. cell — in biology

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