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 120 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: rush · band · rule · pound · rest · cold · rash · shower

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rule — a law
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pound — a weight
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. rest — what's left
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — a series
  17. rule — government
  18. shower — rain
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. band — a ring
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. rest — a break

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