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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. last — final
  4. shower — rain
  5. club — for golf
  6. last — to go on
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. club — for dancing
  10. ball — a great time
  11. branch — a division
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. ball — a dance
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bass — the fish
  18. snap — to click
  19. bass — low music
  20. tear — to rip
  21. club — a group
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. last — finally

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