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: kid · swing · object · land · lean · tube · tear · bat

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. tube — the underground
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bat — the animal
  5. land — ground
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. lean — to bend
  8. object — to protest
  9. kid — child
  10. tube — a container
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. swing — music
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. object — an aim
  16. tear — from crying
  17. swing — to play on
  18. kid — to tease
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lean — thin
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. object — a thing
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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