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: present · content · spring · shower · game · bay · fan · scale

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. content — the amount
  3. spring — a coil
  4. content — happy
  5. game — wild animals
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. present — the time now
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. shower — to wash
  11. present — there
  12. shower — rain
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. spring — the season
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. present — a gift
  20. game — a match
  21. scale — size or range
  22. spring — of water
  23. scale — in music
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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