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 116 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. tear — to rip
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bark — to shout
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. drill — the tool
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. drill — army training
  12. capital — money
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. dip — to sink
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. capital — a city
  17. prune — to trim
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. prune — to trim
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bat — the animal
  24. drill — a practice

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