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: pitcher · field · clip · scale · bore · sharp · fall · tear

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. clip — to cut
  7. tear — from crying
  8. scale — in music
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — a video
  13. field — a subject
  14. tear — to rip
  15. clip — for paper
  16. sharp — clever
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fall — to drop
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. bore — to drill
  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