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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. mine — for digging
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bulb — for light
  5. field — for sport
  6. stock — shares
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bulb — for light
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. tear — from crying
  14. field — farmland
  15. stock — goods
  16. field — a subject
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. tear — to rip

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