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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pop — soda
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. plane — a tool
  5. hand — in cards
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rule — a law
  8. pass — a permit
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. row — a line
  13. hand — help
  14. rule — government
  15. row — to paddle
  16. pop — music
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pop — to visit

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