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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bat — the animal
  3. band — a ring
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. band — a music group
  7. tear — from crying
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — after costs
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. net — in sport
  12. file — a document
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bark — to shout
  18. file — a line of people
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. file — a tool
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. drill — a practice
  24. chair — a leader

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