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: cold · shower · mark · stick · pop · date · face · rush

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pop — to visit
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. shower — rain
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. pop — soda
  11. face — part of the head
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a trace
  17. date — the fruit
  18. face — to point toward
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. mark — a grade
  23. pop — music
  24. shower — to wash

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