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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. ground — crushed
  3. rash — a series
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. degree — from a university
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bark — to shout
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. swing — music
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. ground — a position
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. fork — in a road
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cabinet — ministers

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