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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. last — final
  4. field — farmland
  5. roll — a cake
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. last — finally
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. row — to paddle
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bark — to shout
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. row — a line
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. roll — a list
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. field — for sport
  19. last — to go on
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. craft — a skill
  23. field — a subject
  24. fork — in a road

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