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: bark · saw · wound · cold · chair · clip · mark · temple

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. cold — not warm
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. wound — an injury
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. chair — a leader
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. saw — the tool
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cold — an illness
  16. mark — a grade
  17. clip — a video
  18. saw — the tool
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. bark — to shout
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. cold — the Cold War

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