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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. march — music
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — for golf
  6. row — to paddle
  7. march — the month
  8. scale — size or range
  9. cue — a signal
  10. clip — to cut
  11. march — the month
  12. cue — a hint
  13. bark — to shout
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cue — for pool
  16. row — a line
  17. pit — a hole
  18. scale — in music
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. clip — a video
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pit — in a race
  24. club — a group

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