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 116 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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — decided
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. tear — from crying
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. firm — a company
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. sharp — clever
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wound — an injury
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wound — an injury
  23. tear — to rip
  24. spring — the season

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