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 · trunk · land · bat · bear · pitcher · saw · face

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. shower — rain
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. face — to confront
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — to wash
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bear — the animal
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. land — a country
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bat — in an idiom

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