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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. tear — to rip
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. file — a tool
  6. firm — decided
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — steady
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rush — hurry
  12. file — a document
  13. march — music
  14. ground — the earth
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. march — the month
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. ground — a position
  23. march — the month
  24. file — a line of people

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