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: cabinet · field · track · chip · bark · degree · lash · tear

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. field — for sport
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. track — a song
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. field — farmland
  13. tear — to rip
  14. track — to keep track
  15. degree — from a university
  16. track — a path
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. chip — to eat
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chip — for betting
  22. degree — temperature
  23. field — a subject
  24. bark — to shout

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