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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wound — an injury
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bark — to shout
  6. staff — a stick
  7. clip — for paper
  8. kid — child
  9. court — of law
  10. clip — to cut
  11. staff — employees
  12. bear — the animal
  13. staff — employees
  14. court — for sport
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bear — the animal
  22. snap — to click
  23. clip — a video
  24. court — of a king

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