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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. clip — a video
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pop — to visit
  7. clip — for paper
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pop — music
  11. kid — child
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. content — happy
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rush — hurry
  19. spring — the season
  20. stand — to bear
  21. tear — to rip
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. content — the amount
  24. rush — to hurry

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