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: chair · shower · bat · tear · foot · saw · race · mug

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mug — a cup
  3. shower — rain
  4. race — humankind
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. race — a contest
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. tear — to rip
  9. saw — the tool
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bat — the animal
  12. chair — a leader
  13. shower — to wash
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. mug — to rob
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. mug — a face
  18. foot — a measure
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. saw — the tool
  22. tear — from crying
  23. race — the arms race
  24. chair — a professorship

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