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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. row — a line
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. row — to paddle
  6. roll — a list
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bark — to shout
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. last — finally
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. game — wild animals
  16. drill — a practice
  17. game — a match
  18. last — final
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. clip — for paper
  22. last — to go on
  23. drill — army training
  24. clip — a video

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