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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bound — certain
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bound — obliged
  6. court — of a king
  7. bulb — for light
  8. track — to keep track
  9. kick — in football
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bulb — for light
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. bound — tied together
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cold — an illness
  17. court — of law
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. track — a song
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. track — a path
  24. court — for sport

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