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 120 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: tear · board · bark · cold · pitcher · spring · foot · wake

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. spring — a coil
  4. board — to get on
  5. tear — to rip
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. bark — to shout
  16. board — a committee
  17. cold — an illness
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. foot — a measure
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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