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: spring · leaves · bat · shower · roll · cell · pass · wake

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. shower — rain
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pass — a permit
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. spring — of water
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. roll — a list
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. spring — the season
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. shower — to wash
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. bat — the animal
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cell — in biology

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