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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to drill
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pit — a hole
  10. bore — to tire
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. branch — a division
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pit — in a race
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. sharp — clever
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bark — to shout
  23. row — a line
  24. bulb — for light

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