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: shower · sharp · pitcher · fall · snap · wave · lie · content

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. content — happy
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. fall — to drop
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. fall — to drop
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. sharp — clever
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. snap — to click
  18. fall — the season
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. content — the amount
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. lie — to recline

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