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: mine · arm · hand · nail · tear · tube · cold · ground

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mine — for digging
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ground — a position
  8. tear — from crying
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. ground — crushed
  14. tube — the underground
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cold — not warm
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. tear — to rip
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. hand — in cards
  22. tube — a container
  23. hand — help
  24. cold — the Cold War

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