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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cold — not warm
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bark — to shout
  5. capital — a city
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. ground — crushed
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rush — hurry
  10. bulb — for light
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. ground — a position
  18. vault — a safe
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. capital — money
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cold — an illness

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