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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. tear — from crying
  5. snap — to click
  6. perch — the fish
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. wound — an injury
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. ball — a great time
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. shower — to wash
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. tear — to rip
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. shower — rain
  24. ball — a dance

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