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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wake — a trail
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. court — for sport
  6. band — a music group
  7. prune — to trim
  8. land — to come down
  9. band — a ring
  10. bark — to shout
  11. court — of a king
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. land — ground
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — hurry
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. court — of law

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