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 116 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: wound · shower · season · band · racket · straw · cue · ground

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. cue — a hint
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. season — of the year
  7. ground — a position
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cue — a signal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cue — for pool
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. season — in sport
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. band — a rubber band

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