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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. spell — a short time
  2. cold — an illness
  3. firm — decided
  4. tear — from crying
  5. firm — a company
  6. court — for sport
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. spell — letters
  9. mark — a grade
  10. tear — to rip
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. cold — not warm
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spell — magic
  15. mark — a trace
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. court — of law
  20. firm — steady
  21. court — of a king
  22. squash — the sport
  23. tube — the underground
  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