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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. drill — a practice
  3. spring — a coil
  4. tear — from crying
  5. spring — the season
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. mug — a cup
  8. mug — a face
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. bark — to shout
  14. drill — army training
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. tear — to rip
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. drill — the tool
  20. spring — of water
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. stem — to come from
  24. tear — from crying

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