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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. mine — for digging
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. game — wild animals
  9. current — of water
  10. capital — a city
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. bark — to shout
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. current — electric
  17. current — happening now
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. capital — money
  21. deal — to handle
  22. race — humankind
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. game — a match

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