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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. ground — crushed
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pit — a hole
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pit — in a race
  9. degree — temperature
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — bread
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bark — to shout
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. hand — in cards
  20. roll — a list
  21. roll — a cake
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. hand — help

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