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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — to shout
  3. clip — a video
  4. court — for sport
  5. clip — for paper
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — the earth
  8. craft — a skill
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ball — a dance
  12. court — of law
  13. clip — to cut
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ground — a position
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. craft — boats
  23. court — of a king
  24. craft — a handicraft

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