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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. present — a gift
  3. hand — in cards
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. content — happy
  7. clip — to cut
  8. fall — the season
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. content — the amount
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. fall — to drop
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. charge — in control
  18. bulb — for light
  19. charge — a price
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. hand — help
  23. charge — electricity
  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