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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. present — there
  6. object — a thing
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rush — hurry
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. wound — an injury
  14. present — the time now
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. object — an aim
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cold — an illness
  22. object — to protest
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cold — the Cold War

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