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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. present — the time now
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. staff — employees
  6. object — to protest
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. present — a gift
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. game — a match
  11. staff — employees
  12. game — wild animals
  13. object — a thing
  14. present — there
  15. object — an aim
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spell — magic
  19. bark — to shout
  20. tear — from crying
  21. staff — a stick
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — a short time

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