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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. last — to go on
  4. ground — a position
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. season — in sport
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. last — final
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. tear — to rip
  13. season — of the year
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. ground — crushed
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ball — a dance
  24. last — finally

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