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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. clip — for paper
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cold — not warm
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cold — an illness
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bark — to shout

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