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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. drill — a practice
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. drill — army training
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wake — a trail
  22. prune — to trim
  23. drill — the tool
  24. shower — rain

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