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: bark · lie · degree · spring · stock · ground · capital · sharp

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. degree — an amount
  8. ground — the earth
  9. spring — a coil
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. capital — a city
  12. stock — shares
  13. capital — money
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. spring — of water
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. ground — a position
  20. bark — to shout
  21. lie — to recline
  22. spring — the season
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — goods

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