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 120 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. drill — a practice
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. rock — music
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. degree — an amount
  8. spell — magic
  9. drill — the tool
  10. staff — employees
  11. stock — shares
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. tear — to rip
  16. staff — employees
  17. stock — goods
  18. spell — a short time
  19. drill — army training
  20. rock — a stone
  21. bark — to shout
  22. spell — letters
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rock — to move gently

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