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: board · cell · swing · land · tube · shower · mine · fall

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cell — a phone
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. tube — the underground
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. land — ground
  10. fall — to drop
  11. swing — to play on
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. mine — for digging
  14. cell — in biology
  15. tube — a container
  16. swing — in golf
  17. board — a committee
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. shower — rain
  22. board — to get on
  23. fall — to drop
  24. swing — music

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