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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bass — the fish
  7. season — of the year
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. mine — for digging
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bass — low music
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rash — hasty
  16. season — in sport
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. file — a document
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. rash — a series
  24. patient — a sick person

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