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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bound — certain
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chest — of your body
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — the cause
  7. chest — a box
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — obliged
  13. net — in sport
  14. swing — music
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. chest — of your body
  17. swing — to play on
  18. net — for catching
  19. game — wild animals
  20. net — after costs
  21. game — a match
  22. root — of a word
  23. tear — from crying
  24. swing — in golf

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