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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. field — a subject
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — the arms race
  7. kid — child
  8. last — finally
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. field — for sport
  11. race — a contest
  12. fall — the season
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bark — to shout
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. tear — to rip
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. tear — from crying
  22. field — farmland
  23. perch — the fish
  24. fall — to drop

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