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: cold · toast · chest · bark · lean · stock · pound · bowl

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bark — to shout
  10. stock — goods
  11. chest — of your body
  12. toast — bread
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pound — a weight
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. chest — a box
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. stock — shares
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. lean — to bend

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