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: bowl · sharp · file · tear · bound · mine · ground · staff

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. staff — employees
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bound — obliged
  5. ground — crushed
  6. file — a tool
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — certain
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. ground — a position
  14. staff — employees
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. staff — a stick
  17. file — a document
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mine — for digging
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. file — a line of people
  22. sharp — clever
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. tear — from crying

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