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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cold — an illness
  5. shower — to wash
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mug — to rob
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cold — not warm
  10. band — a ring
  11. mug — a face
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. shower — rain
  14. fall — the season
  15. drill — army training
  16. mug — a cup
  17. band — a music group
  18. game — a match
  19. press — a publisher
  20. drill — a practice
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — to push
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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