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: clip · bear · fork · bark · bat · stock · cap · cell

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cell — in biology
  9. clip — a video
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. stock — goods
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bear — the animal
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stock — shares
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cap — a hat
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. cap — of ice

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