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: board · kick · swing · cold · pound · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. pound — a weight
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. board — a committee
  8. shower — rain
  9. board — to get on
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. swing — music
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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