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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. shower — to wash
  3. spell — a short time
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. ball — a dance
  6. shower — rain
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. kick — in football
  9. spell — letters
  10. roll — a list
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. spell — magic
  22. ball — a great time
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. roll — a cake

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