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: plane · trunk · degree · lean · date · row · bark · capital

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. capital — money
  4. date — the fruit
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. lean — to bend
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bark — to shout
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. lean — thin
  15. capital — a city
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. row — a line
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — a tool
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. row — a quarrel

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