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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wind — moving air
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tear — to rip
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. tear — from crying
  11. hand — in cards
  12. branch — a division
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. wind — moving air
  16. hand — help
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. staff — employees
  20. spring — of water
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pitch — completely
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. wind — to turn a key

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