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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bat — the animal
  3. ground — crushed
  4. season — in sport
  5. bark — to shout
  6. season — of the year
  7. key — the most important part
  8. ground — a position
  9. key — in music
  10. file — a tool
  11. object — a thing
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. key — for a lock
  15. file — a document
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. object — an aim
  18. shower — to wash
  19. ground — the earth
  20. object — to protest
  21. shower — rain
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bat — for baseball

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