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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. club — for dancing
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bulb — for light
  5. tear — from crying
  6. band — a ring
  7. staff — employees
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. staff — employees
  14. club — for golf
  15. band — a music group
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bulb — for light
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. tear — from crying
  21. staff — a stick
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. club — a group
  24. bulb — of a plant

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