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: ground · shower · cold · mate · kid · bay · fan · rock

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rock — music
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ground — the earth
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — to breed
  14. shower — rain
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. kid — child
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. rock — a stone
  19. shower — to wash
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. mate — a partner
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. ground — a position
  24. kid — to tease

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