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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. can — a tin
  3. shower — rain
  4. spell — a short time
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — there
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. spell — letters
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. can — a tin
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. net — for catching
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bat — the animal
  18. spell — magic
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. can — to be able to
  22. present — the time now
  23. net — after costs
  24. straw — a straw man

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