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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. saw — the tool
  3. face — to confront
  4. land — to come down
  5. tear — to rip
  6. hand — in cards
  7. lean — to bend
  8. can — to be able to
  9. saw — the tool
  10. land — a country
  11. face — part of the head
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. mine — for digging
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. lean — thin
  17. face — to point toward
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. hand — help

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