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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. field — for sport
  5. hand — help
  6. branch — a division
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. rush — hurry
  9. degree — an amount
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. field — farmland
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bark — to shout
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. kick — in football
  18. perch — the fish
  19. degree — temperature
  20. hand — in cards
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. field — a subject

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