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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. degree — temperature
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bark — to shout
  8. degree — an amount
  9. band — a ring
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. band — a music group
  16. club — a group
  17. snap — to click
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bat — the animal
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bowl — a football final

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