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 116 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: saw · cell · hand · mate · rash · mine · tear · pop

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mate — a partner
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. mine — for digging
  6. rash — hasty
  7. mate — a friend
  8. pop — to visit
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pop — music
  11. tear — to rip
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pop — soda
  14. mate — to breed
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cell — in biology
  18. rash — a series
  19. hand — in cards
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. cell — a phone

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