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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. tear — from crying
  5. clip — to cut
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. wind — moving air
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. firm — a company
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. cap — of ice
  21. clip — a video
  22. firm — steady
  23. firm — decided
  24. tear — from crying

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