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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. race — the arms race
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rush — hurry
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. branch — a division
  19. prune — to trim
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cold — an illness
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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