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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. wound — an injury
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. face — to confront
  5. cold — an illness
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bark — to shout
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. face — to point toward
  16. ball — a dance
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. face — part of the head
  20. game — a match
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. game — wild animals

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