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: mine · pass · chest · jam · perch · game · spell · shower

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. chest — of your body
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chest — of your body
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chest — a box
  13. pass — a permit
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. game — a match
  20. shower — to wash
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — wild animals
  23. shower — rain
  24. perch — the fish

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