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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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. hand — in cards
  4. bark — to shout
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. branch — a division
  7. kick — in football
  8. land — a country
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stand — to bear
  16. land — ground
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. hand — help
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. land — to come down
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. mine — belonging to me

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