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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. present — a gift
  4. roll — a cake
  5. file — a document
  6. last — to go on
  7. can — to be able to
  8. roll — a list
  9. can — a tin
  10. present — there
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. wound — an injury
  15. can — a tin
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. file — a tool
  19. present — the time now
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bark — to shout

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