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's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stock — shares
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — a weight
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. last — final
  11. stock — goods
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. last — finally
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cell — a phone
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bark — to shout
  22. last — to go on
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. saw — the tool

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