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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — help
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. fall — the season
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ground — a position
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. tear — to rip
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tear — from crying
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bowl — a football final

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