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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. last — final
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. stem — to come from
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. shower — rain
  14. last — finally
  15. mine — for digging
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. lie — to recline
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. last — to go on
  23. bear — 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