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 116 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. tear — from crying
  3. staff — employees
  4. scale — size or range
  5. tear — from crying
  6. staff — employees
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. field — a subject
  11. wound — an injury
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. staff — a stick
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. band — a ring
  18. scale — in music
  19. band — a music group
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — hasty
  24. tear — to rip

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