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 116 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. fall — the season
  3. swing — in golf
  4. net — in sport
  5. spell — a short time
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. scale — in music
  12. net — for catching
  13. scale — size or range
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. spell — magic
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. net — after costs
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. pound — a weight
  23. shower — rain
  24. swing — music

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