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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bark — to shout
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mug — a cup
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — a division
  9. mine — for digging
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mug — a face
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. degree — an amount
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. content — happy
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mug — to rob
  24. content — the amount

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