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 116 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: march · shower · sharp · mine · tube · bowl · stand · plane

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. march — the month
  10. tube — the underground
  11. mine — for digging
  12. march — the month
  13. plane — a tool
  14. shower — to wash
  15. march — music
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. sharp — clever
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. tube — a container
  21. stand — to bear
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. mine — an explosive

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