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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. fall — to drop
  3. current — electric
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. fall — to drop
  6. file — a line of people
  7. current — happening now
  8. rash — hasty
  9. fall — the season
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a tool
  12. capital — a city
  13. shower — rain
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. file — a document
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. saw — the tool
  21. current — of water
  22. saw — the tool
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. shower — to wash

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