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: last · patient · firm · bat · clip · bark · kid · bass

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. kid — child
  4. firm — decided
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. last — final
  7. firm — steady
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bass — low music
  10. clip — a video
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bat — the animal
  16. clip — to cut
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. firm — a company
  19. last — finally
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bass — the fish
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. last — to go on

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