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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mug — a face
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. cell — a phone
  6. chip — to eat
  7. lean — thin
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. tear — from crying
  10. last — final
  11. tear — from crying
  12. face — to confront
  13. cell — in biology
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. chip — for betting
  17. face — part of the head
  18. last — finally
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. face — to point toward
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. last — to go on
  24. lean — to bend

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