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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tear — from crying
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. can — to be able to
  5. tear — to rip
  6. can — a tin
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. can — a tin
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chair — a leader
  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