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

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. shower — rain
  5. band — a ring
  6. tear — from crying
  7. saw — the tool
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. tear — to rip
  11. band — a music group
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. ground — crushed
  15. saw — the tool
  16. ground — a position
  17. tear — from crying
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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