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 116 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. tear — from crying
  4. deal — to handle
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. tear — from crying
  10. shower — rain
  11. sharp — clever
  12. tear — to rip
  13. spring — the season
  14. clip — to cut
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wind — moving air
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. mark — a trace
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mark — a grade
  24. shower — to wash

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