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: plane · kid · clip · rock · track · bark · ground · sharp

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. clip — a video
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. kid — to tease
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. ground — a position
  7. track — a song
  8. sharp — clever
  9. clip — for paper
  10. track — a path
  11. rock — music
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. track — to keep track
  19. kid — child
  20. rock — a stone
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. plane — a tool
  23. ground — the earth
  24. plane — in geometry

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