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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a committee
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. toast — bread
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. scale — size or range
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rush — hurry
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cold — the Cold War

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