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 124 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bore — to tire
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. spring — the season
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bore — to drill
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. chair — a leader
  20. tear — from crying
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. tear — to rip

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