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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  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. object — a thing
  2. pop — to visit
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. track — a path
  6. land — to come down
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pop — soda
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pop — music
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. land — ground
  16. cold — not warm
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. land — a country
  19. dip — to sink
  20. track — a song
  21. object — to protest
  22. cold — an illness
  23. object — an aim
  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