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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bass — the fish
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. board — a committee
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. race — the arms race
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a list
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. spring — a coil
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. race — humankind
  18. roll — a cake
  19. race — a contest
  20. spring — the season
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. board — to get on
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spring — of water

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