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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. stand — to bear
  4. wind — moving air
  5. shower — to wash
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. game — wild animals
  11. shower — rain
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. wind — moving air
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cabinet — ministers

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