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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cold — an illness
  3. club — for golf
  4. tear — to rip
  5. kick — in football
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. saw — the tool
  9. present — there
  10. cold — not warm
  11. tear — from crying
  12. saw — the tool
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. present — the time now
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. present — a gift
  19. field — farmland
  20. foot — a measure
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for dancing

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