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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. pop — soda
  3. spell — a short time
  4. degree — from a university
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. spell — letters
  7. pop — music
  8. field — for sport
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. degree — an amount
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. spell — magic
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland

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