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 120 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. net — after costs
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bark — to shout
  5. row — a line
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wound — an injury
  9. net — in sport
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. kick — in football
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. net — for catching
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. kick — a thrill

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