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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. march — music
  5. capital — a city
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. march — the month
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. net — for catching
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. march — the month
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. net — after costs
  18. capital — money
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — a gift
  22. net — in sport
  23. present — there
  24. wake — a trail

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