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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. shower — to wash
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. kick — in football
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. file — a document
  9. last — final
  10. cold — not warm
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. prune — to trim
  14. file — a tool
  15. cold — an illness
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. file — a line of people
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. prune — to trim

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