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 116 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. last — finally
  4. swing — music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. last — final
  7. cold — not warm
  8. swing — in golf
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. last — to go on
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. swing — to play on
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rest — a break
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wound — an injury

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