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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. rest — a break
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. suit — in cards
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. suit — to fit
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. ball — a dance
  12. rest — what's left
  13. tear — to rip
  14. shower — to wash
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. rest — what's left
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mine — for digging
  22. tear — from crying
  23. shower — rain
  24. suit — clothes

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