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 walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. lean — thin
  3. stem — to come from
  4. cold — an illness
  5. current — electric
  6. file — a document
  7. current — of water
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. cell — in biology
  10. tear — to rip
  11. file — a tool
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. pop — music
  14. lean — to bend
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cell — a phone
  22. pop — soda
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. current — happening now

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