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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · mark · file · cold · race · bark

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. file — a tool
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mark — a trace
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. file — a document
  18. mark — a grade

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