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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bark — to shout
  3. file — a document
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. land — ground
  6. content — the amount
  7. firm — decided
  8. firm — a company
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. land — a country
  14. wind — moving air
  15. land — to come down
  16. wake — a trail
  17. content — happy
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. file — a tool
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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