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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. face — to point toward
  3. stand — to bear
  4. face — part of the head
  5. field — for sport
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. field — a subject
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. land — to come down
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — a weight
  14. dip — to sink
  15. face — to confront
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. field — farmland
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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