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 120 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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. staff — employees
  4. pit — a hole
  5. file — a document
  6. staff — employees
  7. key — for a lock
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. capital — money
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. staff — a stick
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. key — in music
  16. drill — army training
  17. file — a tool
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bark — to shout
  20. last — final
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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