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: hide · shower · row · deal · cold · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a line
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tear — from crying
  11. deal — to handle
  12. shower — rain
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. shower — to wash
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. hide — to keep secret

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