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: fall · saw · squash · kid · bat · lean · dip · shower

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. kid — to tease
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fall — to drop
  7. squash — to crush
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fall — the season
  12. lean — thin
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. squash — the sport
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. shower — to wash
  19. kid — child
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. shower — rain
  23. saw — the tool
  24. fall — to drop

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