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 120 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: face · rule · pitcher · file · craft · tear · fork · straw

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. tear — from crying
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. face — part of the head
  8. fork — in a road
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. face — to point toward
  12. file — a line of people
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rule — government
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. face — to confront
  19. craft — a skill
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rule — a law

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