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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. mug — a cup
  7. last — final
  8. clip — a video
  9. bark — to shout
  10. stem — to come from
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. pound — a weight
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a face
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. chest — a box
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. chest — of your body

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