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 120 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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tube — a container
  7. row — a line
  8. net — for catching
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. tube — the underground
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. row — to paddle
  14. clip — for paper
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tear — from crying
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. net — after costs
  21. clip — a video
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. net — in sport
  24. clip — to cut

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