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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bark — to shout
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. object — an aim
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wound — an injury
  10. object — to protest
  11. plane — a tool
  12. spring — the season
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. spring — of water
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wound — an injury
  17. object — a thing
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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