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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. kid — to tease
  3. land — a country
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cue — a hint
  7. tear — to rip
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. drill — the tool
  11. land — ground
  12. kid — child
  13. mine — for digging
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rash — a series
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — to come down
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a signal
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rash — hasty
  23. drill — a practice
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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