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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. face — part of the head
  4. cell — in biology
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pop — to visit
  7. scale — size or range
  8. shower — rain
  9. scale — in music
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — music
  12. mug — to rob
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cell — a phone
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. shower — to wash
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. mug — a face
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bat — the animal
  24. mug — a cup

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