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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. rock — music
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. clip — to cut
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bore — to drill
  9. game — a match
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bark — to shout
  13. ball — a great time
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. bore — to tire
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. game — wild animals
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. clip — a video
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rock — a stone
  24. game — a kind of play

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