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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. land — ground
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. court — of a king
  7. bark — to shout
  8. land — a country
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. file — a document
  11. court — for sport
  12. drill — the tool
  13. file — a tool
  14. shower — to wash
  15. land — to come down
  16. shower — rain
  17. wake — a trail
  18. court — of law
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. file — a line of people

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