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: shower · march · wax · rash · rule · spring · chip · racket

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. spring — of water
  4. rash — a series
  5. rule — government
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. march — the month
  10. spring — the season
  11. wax — to grow
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. march — the month
  14. chip — for betting
  15. march — music
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. rule — a law
  18. spring — a coil
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rash — hasty
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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