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: kid · roll · game · date · dip · shower · chest · chair

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. game — a match
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. date — the fruit
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. chest — of your body
  9. roll — a list
  10. shower — to wash
  11. chest — of your body
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. game — wild animals
  15. kid — child
  16. chest — a box
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. roll — a cake
  22. dip — to sink
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. shower — rain

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