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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. current — of water
  4. shower — rain
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. scale — size or range
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. spring — of water
  12. prune — to trim
  13. shower — to wash
  14. prune — to trim
  15. current — happening now
  16. cold — not warm
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. current — electric
  21. board — a committee
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. rock — to move gently

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