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: bat · hide · firm · prune · mine · cap · shower · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. firm — a company
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. prune — to trim
  10. row — a line
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. firm — decided
  14. firm — steady
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. mine — for digging
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bat — the animal
  21. shower — rain
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. row — to paddle

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