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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. shower — rain
  3. march — music
  4. last — final
  5. key — the most important part
  6. tear — from crying
  7. key — in music
  8. tear — to rip
  9. rock — music
  10. key — for a lock
  11. cold — an illness
  12. march — the month
  13. last — finally
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bear — the animal
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. march — the month
  21. rock — a stone
  22. last — to go on
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. cold — not warm

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