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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. file — a document
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bark — to shout
  6. file — a tool
  7. net — in sport
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. clip — for paper
  11. scale — in music
  12. stock — shares
  13. season — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. file — a line of people
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. clip — a video
  22. branch — a division
  23. net — after costs
  24. season — to add flavour

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