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: bass · prune · clip · bark · bat · race · court · bay

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. clip — to cut
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. race — humankind
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. clip — a video
  15. court — of law
  16. court — for sport
  17. bark — to shout
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bat — the animal
  20. court — of a king
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the fish
  24. race — a contest

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