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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. land — ground
  3. present — the time now
  4. tear — to rip
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — there
  7. foot — a measure
  8. swing — in golf
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mine — for digging
  12. swing — music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. bat — the animal
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. land — to come down
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. tear — from crying
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. land — a country
  24. mine — belonging to me

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