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: leaves · spell · bark · face · root · hand · degree · snap

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. degree — an amount
  6. face — to confront
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. face — to point toward
  16. snap — to click
  17. face — part of the head
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bark — to shout
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. spell — magic
  23. root — of a plant
  24. hand — in cards

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