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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. scale — size or range
  3. tear — from crying
  4. face — part of the head
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. wake — a trail
  8. tear — from crying
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. field — farmland
  11. face — to confront
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. shower — rain
  16. face — to point toward
  17. field — for sport
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. field — a subject
  20. foot — a measure
  21. scale — in music
  22. tear — to rip
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pound — a weight

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