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 water is too ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. bark — to shout
  9. sharp — clever
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cap — a lid
  13. rock — a stone
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — for pool
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. clip — a video
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cap — of ice
  24. rock — music

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