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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. sharp — clever
  8. suit — in cards
  9. file — a document
  10. row — to paddle
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. suit — to fit
  14. cold — an illness
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bark — to shout
  17. file — a tool
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. row — a line
  21. cold — not warm
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pit — in a race

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