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: fine · row · cold · rule · shower · date · leaves · club

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. date — the fruit
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. shower — to wash
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fine — all right
  11. club — for dancing
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cold — an illness
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. rule — a law
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. club — for golf
  20. row — a line
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. shower — rain
  23. rule — government
  24. club — a group

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