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: game · cold · snap · bowl · hide · perch · nail · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cold — not warm
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — an illness
  12. perch — the fish
  13. snap — to click
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. game — wild animals
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. game — a match
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bowl — a dish

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