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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. tear — to rip
  3. file — a document
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. foot — a measure
  7. cold — not warm
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. rest — a break
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. cold — an illness
  23. file — a tool
  24. bat — the animal

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