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: land · clip · spell · pitcher · sharp · tube · shower · fall

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. spell — a short time
  3. shower — to wash
  4. land — ground
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. land — a country
  9. spell — magic
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. clip — a video
  12. fall — to drop
  13. clip — for paper
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. fall — the season
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. shower — rain
  19. spell — letters
  20. land — to come down
  21. tube — the underground
  22. fall — to drop
  23. clip — to cut
  24. sharp — exactly

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