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 · cell · fork · dip · rash · bay · present · toast

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  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. toast — bread
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. shower — rain
  4. cell — in biology
  5. present — a gift
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. present — the time now
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. shower — to wash
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fork — in a road
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — to sink
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. rash — a series
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. present — there
  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