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 120 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wind — moving air
  3. sharp — clever
  4. game — a match
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mate — a friend
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mate — to breed
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. last — finally
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. wind — moving air
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. cold — an illness
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. mate — a partner
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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