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: rash · club · degree · march · root · straw · bark · sharp

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. root — of a plant
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. root — of a word
  6. march — music
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rash — a series
  10. march — the month
  11. sharp — clever
  12. club — a group
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. root — the cause
  16. bark — to shout
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. march — the month
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. degree — from a university
  24. straw — dry grass

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