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: last · date · perch · net · spell · shower · kick · cold

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — a short time
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. cold — an illness
  8. net — after costs
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cold — not warm
  12. last — finally
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. net — in sport
  19. kick — in football
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. spell — magic
  22. shower — rain
  23. net — for catching
  24. date — the fruit

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