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: drill · hide · cold · clip · safe · root · hand · tear

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. drill — the tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. drill — army training
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tear — from crying
  8. clip — a video
  9. root — of a word
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. drill — a practice
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. hand — help
  14. cold — not warm
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cold — an illness
  17. root — of a plant
  18. clip — to cut
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. root — the cause
  21. tear — to rip
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. tear — from crying

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