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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. shower — rain
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. march — the month
  6. shower — to wash
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. march — the month
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cold — an illness
  14. march — music
  15. cold — not warm
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pop — soda
  19. fall — to drop
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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