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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. drill — the tool
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bark — to shout
  11. drill — army training
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. fork — in a road
  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