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: shower · cold · roll · branch · file · mate · saw · hand

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. saw — the tool
  3. branch — a division
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mate — to breed
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a list
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. saw — the tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. file — a tool
  16. roll — a cake
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. shower — to wash
  21. file — a document
  22. mate — a partner
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. hand — help

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