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

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. drill — a practice
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. hand — help
  8. drill — army training
  9. wax — to grow
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. clip — to cut
  14. chest — of your body
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. drill — the tool
  17. tear — to rip
  18. clip — a video
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. clip — for paper
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. tear — from crying

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