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: hand · rash · rest · fall · squash · wound · tear · file

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rest — what's left
  4. squash — the sport
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. file — a document
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. rest — a break
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rest — what's left
  13. squash — to crush
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rash — hasty
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fall — the season
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. file — a tool
  23. fall — to drop
  24. file — a line of people

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