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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tear — from crying
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. rash — hasty
  5. last — final
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. track — a song
  9. cell — a phone
  10. last — to go on
  11. cell — in biology
  12. field — farmland
  13. wound — an injury
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. tear — from crying
  16. track — to keep track
  17. field — for sport
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. last — finally
  21. rash — a series
  22. field — a subject
  23. tear — to rip
  24. track — a path

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