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: bat · row · chest · wake · tear · deal · stand · rash

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rash — hasty
  5. stand — to bear
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chest — of your body
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wake — a trail
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. rash — a series
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. chest — a box
  24. deal — to handle

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