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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cue — for pool
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. degree — an amount
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cell — a phone
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. cell — in biology
  14. march — music
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. degree — temperature
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cue — a signal
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. coach — a trainer

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