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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. march — the month
  6. field — for sport
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bark — to shout
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. march — music
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. march — the month
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. fork — in a road

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