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: present · swing · degree · bark · cold · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. degree — temperature
  3. club — for golf
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. present — the time now
  7. swing — music
  8. club — a group
  9. swing — to play on
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. present — there
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bark — to shout
  16. swing — in golf
  17. degree — an amount
  18. present — a gift

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