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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. squash — the sport
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bark — to shout
  10. hand — in cards
  11. clip — for paper
  12. hand — help
  13. rash — hasty
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — a grade
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. plane — a tool
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. clip — a video
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. rash — a series

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