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 120 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 · bear · wound · rest · file · craft · hand · squash

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. craft — a skill
  6. tear — from crying
  7. hand — in cards
  8. squash — the sport
  9. file — a tool
  10. rest — a break
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. file — a line of people
  19. squash — to crush
  20. file — a document
  21. rest — what's left
  22. craft — boats
  23. wound — an injury
  24. tear — to rip

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