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: foot · bark · row · bore · current · bat · mine · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bat — the animal
  3. current — happening now
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. foot — a measure
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. current — electric
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mine — for digging
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. row — a line
  16. bore — to tire
  17. current — of water
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. row — to paddle
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bore — to drill
  24. foot — part of the body

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