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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bark — to shout
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. band — a ring
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cold — not warm
  13. scale — in music
  14. mark — a trace
  15. file — a document
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. file — a line of people
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mark — a grade
  20. band — a music group
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. kick — in football
  23. cold — an illness
  24. file — a tool

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