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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · rule · date · scale · march · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wind — moving air
  3. tear — from crying
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. scale — in music
  6. march — music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wind — moving air
  9. scale — size or range
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. tear — to rip
  12. date — the fruit
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. march — the month
  15. rule — government
  16. march — the month
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. rule — a law

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