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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. ball — a great time
  5. staff — employees
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bark — to shout
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wind — moving air
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. tear — from crying
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — to wash
  16. ball — a dance
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. row — a line
  20. staff — employees
  21. row — to paddle
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. staff — a stick

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