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: wound · board · shower · degree · bear · swing · rule · straw

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. rule — a law
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. degree — an amount
  8. board — a committee
  9. wound — an injury
  10. board — to get on
  11. shower — to wash
  12. degree — temperature
  13. swing — music
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wound — an injury
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. swing — to play on
  20. shower — rain
  21. rule — government
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bear — the animal
  24. swing — in golf

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