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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. present — a gift
  3. last — final
  4. degree — temperature
  5. track — a song
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. track — a path
  10. last — finally
  11. present — the time now
  12. field — a subject
  13. last — to go on
  14. present — there
  15. field — farmland
  16. bark — to shout
  17. squash — the sport
  18. degree — an amount
  19. field — for sport
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. shower — to wash
  22. degree — from a university
  23. squash — to crush
  24. track — to keep track

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