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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tear — to rip
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pitch — completely
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. stock — goods
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stock — shares
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. stock — a soup base

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