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: spell · shower · cap · roll · rock · cabinet · ground · kid

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  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. roll — a cake
  2. ground — a position
  3. kid — child
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. kid — to tease
  6. spell — letters
  7. rock — music
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. spell — magic
  10. shower — rain
  11. cap — of ice
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. spell — a short time
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. ground — the earth
  19. roll — a list
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cap — a hat
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rock — a stone
  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