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: lash · shower · file · chest · can · cold · net · pop

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pop — music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. chest — a box
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. shower — to wash
  9. can — a tin
  10. file — a document
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cold — an illness
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. pop — soda
  16. cold — not warm
  17. can — a tin
  18. pop — to visit
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. can — to be able to
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. shower — rain

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