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: club · track · bat · bear · fall · row · bark · mine

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bear — the animal
  3. club — a group
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bat — the animal
  10. track — to keep track
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. track — a song
  14. bark — to shout
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. row — a line
  18. track — a path
  19. club — for golf
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mine — for digging
  22. fall — the season
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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