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: land · cold · date · season · tear · lean · present · wave

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. tear — from crying
  3. present — a gift
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. land — a country
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — in sport
  13. lean — thin
  14. tear — to rip
  15. date — the fruit
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tear — from crying
  18. present — the time now
  19. land — to come down
  20. present — there
  21. lean — to bend
  22. season — of the year
  23. land — ground
  24. cold — not warm

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