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: wax · bark · row · cold · fork · date · staff · charge

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. staff — a stick
  3. cold — an illness
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. charge — a price
  8. staff — employees
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. row — to paddle
  11. staff — employees
  12. charge — in control
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. fork — in a road
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bark — to shout
  24. cold — not warm

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