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 124 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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bark — to shout
  4. spring — the season
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. shower — rain
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bulb — for light
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. game — a match
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — from a university
  20. spring — of water
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. shower — to wash
  24. game — wild animals

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