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 · wound · mug · staff · shower · row · wake · game

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wound — an injury
  4. row — a line
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wake — a trail
  7. staff — employees
  8. row — to paddle
  9. mug — a face
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. mug — a cup
  14. game — a match
  15. mug — to rob
  16. fall — to drop
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. game — wild animals
  19. fall — to drop
  20. shower — rain
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. staff — a stick
  23. shower — to wash
  24. fall — the season

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