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 116 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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. shower — to wash
  6. row — to paddle
  7. rest — what's left
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. wind — moving air
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cue — a hint
  13. scale — in music
  14. row — a line
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rest — what's left
  17. shower — rain
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a signal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. scale — size or range
  22. rest — a break
  23. bat — the animal
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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