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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. ground — crushed
  5. cold — an illness
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bank — for money
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bank — of a river
  12. fall — the season
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hand — help
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bank — for money
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. ground — a position

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