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: fall · shower · lie · cabinet · mine · rash · cold · row

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. fall — the season
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. row — a line
  10. fall — to drop
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. shower — to wash
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. rash — a series
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. shower — rain
  21. row — to paddle
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — to recline
  24. fall — to drop

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