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: current · straw · tear · roll · hand · kid · ground · object

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. current — of water
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. roll — a list
  5. ground — crushed
  6. kid — child
  7. ground — a position
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. ground — the earth
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. object — to protest
  14. hand — in cards
  15. roll — a cake
  16. object — an aim
  17. tear — from crying
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. hand — help
  20. current — happening now
  21. object — a thing
  22. current — electric
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. straw — dry grass

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