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: branch · court · bark · bulb · shower · race · swing · degree

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bark — to shout
  4. court — for sport
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. race — a contest
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. degree — temperature
  10. swing — music
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. degree — from a university
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. race — the arms race
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. race — humankind
  18. shower — to wash
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. degree — an amount
  22. shower — rain
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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