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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. cold — not warm
  3. shower — rain
  4. mate — a partner
  5. ground — crushed
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rash — hasty
  8. scale — in music
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. shower — to wash
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — a position
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bat — the animal
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. mate — to breed
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. rash — a series

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