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 120 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. rash — a series
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bat — the animal
  9. tube — the underground
  10. shower — rain
  11. can — to be able to
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. shower — to wash
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — a tin
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. tube — a container
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cold — not warm
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. hand — help
  24. cold — an illness

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