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: net · pitcher · row · tear · fall · bound · arm · lean

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. row — a line
  3. bound — certain
  4. lean — thin
  5. tear — to rip
  6. fall — the season
  7. net — for catching
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. lean — to bend
  10. net — in sport
  11. fall — to drop
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. tear — from crying
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — obliged
  22. row — to paddle
  23. net — after costs
  24. arm — part of the body

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