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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. tube — a container
  3. wound — an injury
  4. swing — music
  5. land — a country
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. snap — to click
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tear — from crying
  12. land — ground
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. swing — in golf
  21. tube — the underground
  22. land — to come down
  23. tear — to rip
  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