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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. march — music
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. bark — to shout
  8. wax — to grow
  9. degree — temperature
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — low music
  13. kid — to tease
  14. ball — a great time
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. kid — child
  19. shower — rain
  20. march — the month
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. march — the month

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