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: ball · shower · wind · last · march · ground · bass · rash

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. last — finally
  5. ball — a great time
  6. last — final
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. rash — a series
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. rash — hasty
  13. ball — a dance
  14. wind — moving air
  15. last — to go on
  16. shower — rain
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — a position
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. bass — the fish
  21. ground — the earth
  22. wind — moving air
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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