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 · cold · rule · roll · pop · spring · row · bore

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. pop — to visit
  3. roll — a list
  4. spring — a coil
  5. roll — a cake
  6. pop — music
  7. row — a line
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pop — soda
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. spring — the season
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bore — to drill
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. rule — government
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rule — a law
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bore — to tire
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. bark — to shout

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