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: rush · bear · date · cell · club · band · bark · bat

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. rush — hurry
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. club — for dancing
  11. date — the fruit
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. band — a ring
  17. club — for golf
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. club — a group
  23. band — a music group
  24. cell — in biology

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