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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. snap — to click
  3. march — the month
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. fork — in a road
  6. march — the month
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cue — for pool
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. foot — a measure
  18. cue — a hint
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spring — a coil
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. march — music
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. fork — to eat with

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