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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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. deal — to handle
  2. suit — in cards
  3. bark — to shout
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. suit — clothes
  7. row — a line
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. scale — in music
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. hand — help
  17. suit — to fit
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stem — to come from
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. scale — size or range
  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