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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. shower — rain
  3. degree — an amount
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. last — final
  6. stem — to come from
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. bark — to shout
  14. last — finally
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wound — an injury
  23. last — to go on
  24. mark — a grade

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