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: bark · race · cell · saw · pound · spell

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cell — in biology
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pound — a weight
  8. race — a contest
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cell — a phone
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. spell — a short time
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. race — humankind

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