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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. cold — not warm
  4. land — a country
  5. cold — an illness
  6. march — music
  7. land — ground
  8. cell — in biology
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. march — the month
  18. kick — in football
  19. tear — to rip
  20. march — the month
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. hide — to keep secret

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