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 120 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: tear · fall · deal · bowl · present · pound · hand · land

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. present — there
  3. tear — to rip
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. hand — help
  13. land — ground
  14. pound — a weight
  15. fall — the season
  16. land — to come down
  17. present — the time now
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. present — a gift
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hand — in cards
  23. land — a country
  24. pound — for dogs

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