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: rule · wake · bay · cold · straw · bark · saw · club

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. cold — an illness
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. club — a group
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. club — for dancing
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. saw — the tool
  14. club — for golf
  15. rule — government
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cold — not warm
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rule — a law
  24. bark — of a tree

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