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: cell · bark · mate · cabinet · race · cold

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bark — to shout
  16. mate — to breed
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cell — in a prison

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