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: drill · season · kid · clip · bay · face · rash · shower

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kid — to tease
  4. season — in sport
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. clip — a video
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. face — to confront
  10. rash — hasty
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. drill — a practice
  13. rash — a series
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kid — child
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. face — part of the head
  20. season — of the year
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. face — to point toward

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