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 116 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 is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. can — a tin
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bulb — for light
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. degree — temperature
  8. row — a line
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bulb — for light
  17. can — a tin
  18. wind — moving air
  19. can — to be able to
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. degree — an amount
  24. row — a quarrel

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