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: last · shower · mate · lie · mouse · spring · spell · pitcher

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. shower — to wash
  3. last — to go on
  4. mate — a friend
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. lie — to recline
  8. mate — a partner
  9. last — final
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. last — finally
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. shower — rain
  17. spell — magic
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. spring — of water
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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