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: game · row · fall · charge · bass · bat · shower · spring

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bass — low music
  4. charge — electricity
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. shower — to wash
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. row — a line
  10. game — wild animals
  11. row — to paddle
  12. game — a match
  13. spring — the season
  14. charge — in control
  15. spring — of water
  16. bass — the fish
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. fall — the season
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. spring — a coil
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. charge — a price

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