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: hide · fall · mine · capital · shower · stem · rash · spell

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. fall — to drop
  4. capital — money
  5. stem — to come from
  6. spell — letters
  7. fall — the season
  8. rash — a series
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. shower — rain
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — a short time
  14. capital — a city
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. fall — to drop
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. rash — hasty
  24. shower — to wash

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