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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. degree — temperature
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chip — to eat
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. roll — a cake
  13. bat — the animal
  14. chip — for betting
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. tear — to rip
  19. roll — a list
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. degree — an amount

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