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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rush — hurry
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. lean — to bend
  6. last — to go on
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. last — final
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. pound — a weight
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — a video
  20. lean — thin
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. last — finally

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