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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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. pop — soda
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rule — a law
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. net — for catching
  12. rule — government
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. net — in sport
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bat — the animal
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. net — after costs
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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