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: cold · ruler · rule · shower · wound · bear

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bear — the animal
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. bear — the animal
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. wound — an injury
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. wound — an injury
  13. shower — rain
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. shower — to wash
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — government

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