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: file · march · shower · fine · ground · swing · bat · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bat — the animal
  3. file — a line of people
  4. ground — crushed
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. swing — in golf
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. file — a document
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. march — music
  12. fine — high quality
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. march — the month
  17. ground — the earth
  18. swing — to play on
  19. ground — a position
  20. march — the month
  21. file — a tool
  22. swing — music
  23. shower — rain
  24. fine — all right

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