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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. kid — to tease
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. tear — from crying
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pound — a weight
  10. game — a match
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. game — wild animals
  16. kid — child
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bark — to shout
  20. tear — from crying
  21. net — in sport
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mine — for digging

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