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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: vault · capital · bark · foot · degree · kid

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. foot — a measure
  3. kid — child
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. kid — to tease
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. degree — from a university
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. capital — money
  16. bark — to shout
  17. degree — an amount
  18. capital — a city

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