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 120 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: cell · present · shower · cold · key · tear · track · rest

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. present — a gift
  5. cold — not warm
  6. key — the most important part
  7. present — there
  8. track — a song
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. shower — to wash
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rest — a break
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. key — for a lock
  15. present — the time now
  16. tear — to rip
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a path
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rest — what's left
  24. key — in music

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