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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. board — to get on
  4. net — for catching
  5. board — a committee
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. net — in sport
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. bark — to shout
  17. net — after costs
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. clip — a video
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bark — of a tree

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