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: squash · shower · mate · row · scale · ground · tear · temple

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. row — to paddle
  5. scale — size or range
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. scale — in music
  9. squash — the sport
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mate — to breed
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. row — a line
  16. mate — a friend
  17. ground — the earth
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. squash — to crush
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. ground — crushed
  23. mate — a partner
  24. ground — a position

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