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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. spring — a coil
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. rash — a series
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. tear — to rip
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fork — in a road
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. foot — a measure
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. spring — the season
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. stand — to bear
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. spring — of water
  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