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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. club — for golf
  6. land — to come down
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bark — to shout
  11. land — ground
  12. club — a group
  13. roll — a cake
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. club — for dancing
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. cold — an illness
  19. shower — to wash
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. land — a country
  24. hide — to keep secret

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