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: leaves · ball · shower · net · can · cold · bat · mouse

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  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. can — to be able to
  2. net — after costs
  3. can — a tin
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. can — a tin
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. ball — a dance
  16. shower — to wash
  17. ball — a great time
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. shower — rain
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. leaves — to go away
  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