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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fine — all right
  6. pit — a hole
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — a hint
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pass — a permit
  15. bark — to shout
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. cue — for pool
  19. degree — temperature
  20. fine — high quality
  21. degree — from a university
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. pit — in a race
  24. bark — of a tree

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