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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. court — of law
  4. bark — to shout
  5. tear — from crying
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. tear — to rip
  8. court — for sport
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. date — the fruit
  11. mate — a partner
  12. court — of a king
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. field — for sport
  15. board — a committee
  16. row — to paddle
  17. tear — from crying
  18. board — to get on
  19. row — a line
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mate — a friend

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