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: shower · jam · bat · snap · pop · fall · straw · roll

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bat — the animal
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. roll — a list
  9. shower — rain
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. roll — a cake
  14. pop — soda
  15. shower — to wash
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to click
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fall — to drop
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. fall — the season
  24. bat — in an idiom

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