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: wake · cold · stem · tear · chip · band

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. stem — to come from
  5. chip — for betting
  6. band — a music group
  7. cold — an illness
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wake — a trail
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. band — a ring

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