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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — completely
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. capital — money
  17. fall — the season
  18. capital — a city
  19. chest — a box
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bark — to shout
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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