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 116 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. last — to go on
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. last — finally
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cold — an illness
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — in a road
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kick — in football
  19. cold — not warm
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. last — final
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — in a tire

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