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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. rush — hurry
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spell — a short time
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. staff — employees
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. spell — letters
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. spell — magic
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. pound — a weight
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. march — the month
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. bark — to shout

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