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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. key — for a lock
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. squash — the sport
  5. capital — money
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — in music
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bark — to shout
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. date — the fruit
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. capital — a city
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. degree — from a university
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. degree — temperature
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stem — to come from

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