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 116 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. key — in music
  4. track — to keep track
  5. spell — a short time
  6. clip — a video
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. stock — goods
  12. clip — for paper
  13. last — final
  14. stock — shares
  15. spell — letters
  16. bark — to shout
  17. spell — magic
  18. fine — high quality
  19. clip — to cut
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. key — the most important part
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fine — all right

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