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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. face — to confront
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. plane — a tool
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bark — to shout
  9. date — the fruit
  10. pound — a weight
  11. face — to point toward
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cold — an illness
  15. face — part of the head
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stem — of a plant

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