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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. squash — the sport
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. field — a subject
  8. bass — low music
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bass — the fish
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — for sport
  14. bore — to drill
  15. field — farmland
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. last — finally
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. face — part of the head
  20. stem — to come from
  21. last — final
  22. last — to go on
  23. tear — to rip
  24. face — to point toward

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