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 116 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: charge · net · cap · race · shower · perch · march · content

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. shower — to wash
  3. march — the month
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. race — a contest
  7. net — after costs
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. charge — in control
  10. march — the month
  11. cap — a hat
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. content — happy
  14. march — music
  15. race — the arms race
  16. charge — electricity
  17. race — humankind
  18. net — in sport
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. net — for catching
  23. shower — rain
  24. content — the amount

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