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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. clip — to cut
  3. staff — employees
  4. tear — from crying
  5. staff — a stick
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bark — to shout
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bear — the animal
  11. clip — a video
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bat — the animal
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. clip — for paper
  23. staff — employees
  24. ground — a position

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