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: cap · file · content · stand · shower · field · game · rest

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. rest — what's left
  4. content — happy
  5. game — a match
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. field — a subject
  10. rest — what's left
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. rest — a break
  13. file — a document
  14. stand — to bear
  15. field — for sport
  16. shower — rain
  17. field — farmland
  18. cap — a hat
  19. file — a tool
  20. cap — of ice
  21. game — wild animals
  22. content — the amount
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cap — a lid

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