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 120 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 water is too ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. present — there
  3. bark — to shout
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. track — a song
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cold — an illness
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. present — the time now
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. saw — the tool
  15. track — a path
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. present — a gift
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. branch — a division
  22. track — to keep track
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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