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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. club — a group
  6. saw — the tool
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. shower — to wash
  10. file — a tool
  11. club — for dancing
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. file — a document
  15. saw — the tool
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. ground — crushed
  18. club — for golf
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. spell — a short time
  23. shower — rain
  24. staff — a stick

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