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 120 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. fall — to drop
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bark — to shout
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fall — the season
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. pass — a permit
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. stem — to come from
  24. kick — in football

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