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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. wound — an injury
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. file — a line of people
  6. game — a match
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. file — a document
  9. spell — magic
  10. pitch — completely
  11. wound — an injury
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. bear — the animal
  15. spell — letters
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. file — a tool
  19. game — wild animals
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. root — the cause

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