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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. pop — to visit
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pop — soda
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. field — for sport
  12. suit — in cards
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. pop — music
  15. field — a subject
  16. tube — a container
  17. field — farmland
  18. suit — clothes
  19. hand — help
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. plane — a tool
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bark — to shout
  24. tube — the underground

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