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: track · fork · saw · stick · bark · cold · wound · court

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. track — to keep track
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. fork — in a road
  8. track — a path
  9. bark — to shout
  10. court — of a king
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. court — for sport
  14. track — a song
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cold — not warm
  17. court — of law
  18. saw — the tool
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wound — an injury
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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