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: file · bark · coach · row · stick · last · chip · arm

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. last — to go on
  5. row — a line
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. file — a line of people
  11. chip — to eat
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. last — finally
  18. file — a tool
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. file — a document
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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