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: shower · content · game · perch · land · mug · file · charge

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. content — the amount
  3. land — to come down
  4. mug — a face
  5. mug — a cup
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. content — happy
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. file — a document
  10. charge — electricity
  11. shower — rain
  12. file — a line of people
  13. game — a match
  14. shower — to wash
  15. land — ground
  16. game — wild animals
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. perch — the fish
  19. mug — to rob
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. charge — a price
  22. charge — in control
  23. land — a country
  24. file — a tool

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