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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. bass — low music
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — in a race
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. key — for a lock
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. tear — to rip
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. key — in music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. key — the most important part
  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