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: wound · bark · game · pop · toast · bat · nail · craft

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. toast — bread
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — to shout
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pop — soda
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. craft — a skill
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. nail — for a hammer

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