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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mark — a grade
  6. march — the month
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. tear — from crying
  13. clip — a video
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. march — music
  16. clip — to cut
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. march — the month
  19. row — to paddle
  20. tear — to rip
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. row — a line
  24. tear — from crying

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