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: cold · bark · clip · arm · stock · drill · saw · current

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. clip — a video
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. clip — to cut
  6. saw — the tool
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bark — to shout
  12. current — happening now
  13. clip — for paper
  14. current — of water
  15. saw — the tool
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. current — electric
  21. drill — army training
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. cold — an illness
  24. arm — part of the body

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