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 120 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: cold · bark · perch · saw · ground · fork · present · wound

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. present — a gift
  3. perch — the fish
  4. wound — an injury
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. present — there
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wound — an injury
  11. ground — a position
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. ground — the earth
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. present — the time now
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bark — to shout
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ground — crushed
  22. cold — not warm
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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