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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. land — to come down
  4. scale — in music
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. last — finally
  10. file — a document
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bank — for money
  13. file — a line of people
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bank — for money
  17. last — to go on
  18. scale — size or range
  19. bank — of a river
  20. last — final
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. tear — to rip
  24. file — a tool

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