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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. kick — in football
  4. snap — to click
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rock — a stone
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. rock — music
  14. stand — to bear
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mark — a trace
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bark — to shout
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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