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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. content — happy
  10. firm — steady
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chair — a leader
  14. wound — an injury
  15. firm — a company
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. tear — to rip
  18. firm — decided
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. content — the amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wound — an injury

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