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: bore · cold · squash · chair · pound · bark · tear · scale

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. bore — to drill
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cold — not warm
  7. scale — size or range
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. squash — the sport
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bark — to shout
  13. squash — to crush
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to tire
  17. chair — a leader
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pound — to hit hard

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