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: kick · clip · bark · lie · squash · date · tear · degree

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. lie — to recline
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. degree — from a university
  6. squash — to crush
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. clip — for paper
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bark — to shout
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — an amount
  13. squash — the sport
  14. clip — a video
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. clip — to cut
  17. degree — temperature
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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