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: field · tear · cold · bay · sharp · perch · hand · saw

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. field — for sport
  6. hand — help
  7. field — a subject
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cold — an illness
  12. perch — the fish
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. hand — in cards
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. tear — to rip
  23. field — farmland
  24. bay — a horse colour

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