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

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. row — a line
  7. fall — the season
  8. mark — a grade
  9. cell — a phone
  10. fall — to drop
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. row — to paddle
  15. mark — a trace
  16. foot — a measure
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. cell — in biology

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