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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bark — to shout
  5. sharp — clever
  6. band — a ring
  7. march — the month
  8. press — a publisher
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. degree — temperature
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. march — the month
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. march — music
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. press — to push
  22. press — newspapers
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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