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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. field — farmland
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. snap — to click
  6. sharp — clever
  7. date — the fruit
  8. field — a subject
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. drill — army training
  18. field — for sport
  19. branch — a division
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. branch — of a tree

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