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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. file — a document
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fine — all right
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. board — a committee
  7. squash — to crush
  8. fine — high quality
  9. shower — rain
  10. fall — the season
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. spring — of water
  14. bat — the animal
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. file — a tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. file — a line of people
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. squash — the sport
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bat — in an idiom

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