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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. craft — a skill
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. bark — to shout
  7. clip — for paper
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. kid — to tease
  11. clip — a video
  12. craft — boats
  13. board — a committee
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. board — to get on
  17. spring — the season
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. kid — child
  24. plane — a tool

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