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: key · shower · rock · bass · kid · mine · face · spring

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bass — the fish
  5. key — for a lock
  6. face — part of the head
  7. rock — a stone
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. shower — rain
  10. spring — of water
  11. bass — low music
  12. spring — a coil
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. face — to point toward
  15. rock — music
  16. shower — to wash
  17. spring — the season
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. key — the most important part
  20. kid — to tease
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. key — in music
  23. kid — child
  24. mine — an explosive

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