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: scale · wake · kick · shower · net · saw · cell · rush

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. net — in sport
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. cell — a phone
  7. shower — rain
  8. cell — in biology
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — for catching
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. rush — hurry
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. scale — in music
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. scale — size or range
  21. kick — in football
  22. saw — the tool
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wake — a trail

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