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: land · craft · bark · pitch · stick · object · content · kid

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. object — to protest
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. object — a thing
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. land — a country
  10. content — the amount
  11. craft — a skill
  12. land — ground
  13. object — an aim
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. bark — to shout
  18. land — to come down
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. craft — boats
  22. kid — to tease
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. kid — child

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