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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. field — farmland
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — low music
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. hand — help
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cold — not warm
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cold — an illness
  21. craft — boats
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bass — the fish

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