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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. drill — army training
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. drill — the tool
  5. row — a line
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. degree — temperature
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. deal — to handle
  13. court — of law
  14. degree — from a university
  15. court — for sport
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. court — of a king
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. bark — to shout
  21. drill — a practice
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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