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: tear · last · safe · field · wake · bark · wound · spell

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. spell — a short time
  3. tear — from crying
  4. last — final
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. field — farmland
  8. last — to go on
  9. spell — magic
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tear — to rip
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. field — for sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. field — a subject
  23. spell — letters
  24. last — finally

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