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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pop — to visit
  8. dip — to sink
  9. fork — in a road
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. can — to be able to
  12. pop — music
  13. can — a tin
  14. tear — from crying
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. cold — an illness
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. can — a tin
  19. cold — not warm
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pop — soda
  23. tear — to rip
  24. dip — to dunk

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