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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bark — to shout
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bound — tied together
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. stock — shares
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. track — a song
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. track — a path
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bulb — for light
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bound — certain
  24. stock — goods

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