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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. net — after costs
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. row — to paddle
  8. fine — high quality
  9. net — in sport
  10. row — a line
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fine — all right
  13. object — to protest
  14. object — an aim
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. net — for catching
  19. shower — rain
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. object — a thing
  24. cold — the Cold War

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