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 116 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: straw · degree · mine · bark · stick · clip · court · cap

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bark — to shout
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. degree — an amount
  5. clip — a video
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. court — for sport
  18. degree — from a university
  19. court — of law
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. court — of a king
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cap — of ice

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