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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. stand — to bear
  4. lie — to recline
  5. pit — a hole
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — not warm
  8. drill — army training
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. dip — to sink
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. drill — the tool
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. drill — a practice
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. pit — in a race
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. dip — to dunk

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