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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. hand — help
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. tube — the underground
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. plane — a tool
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bound — certain
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bark — to shout
  18. tube — a container
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rash — a series
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — tied together

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