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 116 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — a face
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cold — an illness
  8. net — in sport
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. row — a line
  11. net — after costs
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. net — for catching
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cold — the Cold War

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