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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wind — moving air
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — a list
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. club — for dancing
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. fall — the season
  17. branch — a division
  18. degree — temperature
  19. club — a group
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bark — to shout
  22. degree — an amount
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. degree — from a university

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