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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. last — finally
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. tear — from crying
  8. last — to go on
  9. tear — from crying
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. field — a subject
  13. object — to protest
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bark — to shout
  17. field — farmland
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — an aim
  22. last — final
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. field — for sport

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