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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. spring — the season
  5. cold — not warm
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. spring — of water
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. drill — army training
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. drill — the tool
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. squash — the sport
  23. row — a line
  24. drill — a practice

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