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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. saw — the tool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ground — the earth
  5. prune — to trim
  6. saw — the tool
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ground — a position
  11. land — ground
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. key — for a lock
  14. wound — an injury
  15. key — in music
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wound — an injury
  19. key — the most important part
  20. fork — in a road
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. ground — crushed
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

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