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: tear · patient · swing · saw · roll · nail · bat · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. tear — from crying
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. roll — a list
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. roll — a cake
  13. saw — the tool
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bat — the animal
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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