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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. fine — all right
  5. mine — for digging
  6. kid — child
  7. fine — high quality
  8. bass — low music
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. shower — rain
  15. fork — in a road
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — clever
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. current — electric
  20. current — happening now
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. current — of water
  24. bass — the fish

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