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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — a country
  3. staff — employees
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. land — ground
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cold — an illness
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. mine — for digging
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. land — to come down
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. cold — not warm

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