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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. object — to protest
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bass — the fish
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bass — low music
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. capital — money
  16. clip — a video
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bark — to shout
  19. object — a thing
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. object — an aim
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. capital — a city

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