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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. key — for a lock
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bark — to shout
  7. saw — the tool
  8. clip — a video
  9. key — the most important part
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. key — in music
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. clip — to cut
  14. band — a ring
  15. clip — for paper
  16. saw — the tool
  17. band — a music group
  18. saw — past of 'see'

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