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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. saw — the tool
  6. land — a country
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. staff — a stick
  9. clip — a video
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. staff — employees
  13. land — to come down
  14. bark — to shout
  15. clip — to cut
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. clip — for paper
  18. land — ground
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. staff — employees
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bowl — to roll

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