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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. file — a tool
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. capital — a city
  6. bark — to shout
  7. spring — a coil
  8. rest — what's left
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. spring — of water
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. spring — the season
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. file — a document
  19. rest — a break
  20. capital — money
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. file — a line of people
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — lets stay

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