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: bear · tear · cabinet · dip · roll · prune · cold · fine

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fine — all right
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. tear — to rip
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — a list
  10. cold — not warm
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — an illness
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. fine — high quality
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. dip — to sink

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