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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. dip — to sink
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bass — the fish
  8. pop — soda
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pop — music
  11. bass — low music
  12. court — of a king
  13. cap — of ice
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. cap — a hat
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. court — for sport
  19. spell — letters
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. degree — temperature
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. spell — magic
  24. court — of law

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