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: squash · current · chest · swing · clip · land · fall · shower

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. shower — rain
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. land — ground
  6. clip — a video
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. swing — music
  11. fall — the season
  12. swing — to play on
  13. shower — to wash
  14. current — of water
  15. squash — to crush
  16. current — electric
  17. clip — for paper
  18. chest — of your body
  19. land — to come down
  20. clip — to cut
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. land — a country
  23. current — happening now
  24. swing — in golf

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