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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. last — final
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. kick — in football
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. scale — in music
  13. last — to go on
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chest — of your body
  17. scale — size or range
  18. saw — the tool
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wind — moving air
  22. last — finally
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. wind — to turn a key

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