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 · rock · game · spring · bass · scale · firm · court

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. firm — decided
  5. rock — music
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. spring — the season
  8. bark — to shout
  9. game — a match
  10. court — for sport
  11. firm — a company
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. court — of law
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. firm — steady
  17. bass — low music
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. spring — a coil
  20. court — of a king
  21. game — wild animals
  22. scale — size or range
  23. rock — a stone
  24. bass — the fish

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