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 116 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: present · court · mouse · wind · file · bark · pop · season

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bark — to shout
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. present — a gift
  6. season — of the year
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — to visit
  9. court — of law
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. pop — music
  13. court — of a king
  14. file — a document
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. court — for sport
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. present — the time now
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. season — in sport
  22. wind — moving air
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. file — a tool

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