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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bark — to shout
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. sharp — clever
  6. tear — to rip
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fall — to drop
  11. spring — the season
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — the sport
  15. fall — the season
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. row — a line
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. tear — from crying
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. fall — to drop

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