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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. object — a thing
  4. tear — to rip
  5. spell — magic
  6. chest — of your body
  7. game — wild animals
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. spell — a short time
  10. tear — from crying
  11. object — to protest
  12. game — a match
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. row — a line
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bark — to shout
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. object — an aim
  24. cabinet — ministers

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