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

Word bank: shower · pound · tear · arm · snap · chair

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chair — a leader
  5. tear — to rip
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. snap — to click
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. tear — from crying
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pound — a weight
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. snap — to snap out of it

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