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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. drill — the tool
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. drill — army training
  7. cue — a signal
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. row — to paddle
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stem — to come from
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — in sport
  14. cue — a hint
  15. bark — to shout
  16. drill — a practice
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. mine — for digging
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cue — for pool

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