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: mark · hand · ruler · bass · fall · tear · game · land

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bass — the fish
  6. mark — a grade
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. land — to come down
  9. tear — to rip
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. fall — to drop
  13. land — a country
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. game — a match
  16. fall — the season
  17. land — ground
  18. game — wild animals
  19. mark — a trace
  20. hand — help
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. ruler — a monarch

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