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 124 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. hand — help
  5. swing — music
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. court — for sport
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hand — in cards
  10. saw — the tool
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. swing — to play on
  13. court — of a king
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — in golf
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. tear — to rip
  21. court — of law
  22. sharp — clever
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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