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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tube — a container
  3. chest — a box
  4. mate — to breed
  5. last — to go on
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mate — a friend
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. last — final
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pitch — completely
  12. tube — the underground
  13. file — a document
  14. last — finally
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. bat — the animal
  18. file — a tool
  19. mate — a partner
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. tear — from crying

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