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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wind — moving air
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. file — a document
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cap — of ice
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. file — a tool
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. stock — shares
  13. shower — rain
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. stock — goods
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — a lid
  22. game — a match
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. toast — bread

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