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: ground · land · face · shower · fall · branch · rash · plane

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — crushed
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. fall — to drop
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — a division
  9. shower — to wash
  10. rash — hasty
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — a tool
  13. fall — to drop
  14. face — part of the head
  15. land — to come down
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — to confront
  18. shower — rain
  19. rash — a series
  20. ground — a position
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. fall — the season
  24. plane — an aircraft

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