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 · sharp · club · stem · fall · swing · pitcher

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  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. sharp — exactly
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. shower — rain
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. club — a group
  7. cell — a phone
  8. fall — the season
  9. stem — to come from
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. sharp — clever
  15. club — for golf
  16. swing — to play on
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. swing — music
  19. shower — to wash
  20. cell — in biology
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. club — for dancing
  23. sharp — with an edge
  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