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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. object — a thing
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. object — to protest
  5. tear — to rip
  6. stem — to come from
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. chair — a leader
  13. object — an aim
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — a grade
  19. cold — an illness
  20. scale — size or range
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. cold — the Cold War

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