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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. march — the month
  3. tear — to rip
  4. root — the cause
  5. lean — thin
  6. march — music
  7. root — of a word
  8. cue — for pool
  9. root — of a plant
  10. wound — an injury
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — a series
  15. march — the month
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cue — a hint
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. lean — to bend
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. tear — from crying
  24. straw — dry grass

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