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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. last — final
  4. scale — size or range
  5. cold — not warm
  6. shower — to wash
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. last — to go on
  9. tear — to rip
  10. swing — music
  11. cold — an illness
  12. tear — from crying
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. swing — to play on
  16. last — finally
  17. tube — the underground
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. shower — rain
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. swing — in golf
  23. tube — a container
  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