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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — ground
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. content — happy
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — to come from
  12. land — a country
  13. content — the amount
  14. squash — to crush
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. staff — employees
  20. degree — an amount
  21. land — to come down
  22. degree — temperature
  23. squash — the sport
  24. degree — from a university

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