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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bark — to shout
  3. ground — the earth
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mine — for digging
  8. tear — from crying
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kid — child
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. racket — for tennis

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