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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: shower · chest · deal · pound · row · drill

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — rain
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. deal — to handle
  5. row — a line
  6. chest — of your body
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. drill — army training
  9. pound — a weight
  10. chest — of your body
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. drill — a practice
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. drill — the tool
  15. shower — to wash
  16. chest — a box
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pound — to hit hard

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