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: bay · row · plane · cold · shower · bark · hide · hand

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bark — to shout
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. hand — help
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cold — an illness
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. row — a line
  16. shower — rain
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. shower — to wash
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cold — not warm
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. row — to paddle

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