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: shower · fork · tube · bore · swing · bass · safe · game

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. tube — a container
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. bass — the fish
  5. game — wild animals
  6. swing — to play on
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bass — low music
  11. shower — to wash
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. shower — rain
  15. game — a match
  16. swing — music
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to drill
  19. swing — in golf
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bore — to tire
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — a garden tool

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