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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. degree — an amount
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. fine — all right
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. pop — to visit
  12. degree — from a university
  13. shower — rain
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bark — to shout
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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