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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. field — for sport
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fall — to drop
  5. field — farmland
  6. fall — the season
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. pop — music
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. field — a subject
  13. pop — to visit
  14. fall — to drop
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. clip — a video
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. clip — for paper
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. fork — in a road
  22. clip — to cut
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. pop — soda

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