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: squash · chair · race · present · shower · wound · plane · straw

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. present — the time now
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. present — a gift
  10. squash — the sport
  11. shower — rain
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. race — humankind
  14. wound — an injury
  15. present — there
  16. shower — to wash
  17. race — a contest
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wound — an injury
  23. squash — to crush
  24. race — the arms race

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