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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. mate — a partner
  5. last — final
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. field — for sport
  10. last — finally
  11. lean — to bend
  12. capital — a city
  13. bark — to shout
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. field — a subject
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. capital — money
  20. last — to go on
  21. lean — thin
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — a trace
  24. field — farmland

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