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 120 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 · racket · swing · pass · cold · pop · arm · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — to play on
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pop — soda
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. swing — in golf
  10. pop — music
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pass — a permit
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cold — not warm

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