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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a grade
  8. tear — to rip
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. sharp — clever
  14. fall — the season
  15. mark — a trace
  16. tear — from crying
  17. band — a music group
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. band — a ring
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fall — to drop

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