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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. present — the time now
  3. ground — a position
  4. kid — child
  5. hand — help
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pop — soda
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pop — music
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wind — moving air
  12. present — a gift
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. kid — to tease
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. tear — to rip
  18. ground — crushed
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pop — to visit
  21. present — there
  22. hand — in cards
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wind — moving air

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