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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. shower — to wash
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. spell — magic
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. prune — to trim
  14. spell — letters
  15. bass — low music
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. prune — to trim
  21. game — a match
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. bass — the fish
  24. chest — of your body

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