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: straw · bark · shower · bay · row · degree · march · spring

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. degree — from a university
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bark — to shout
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. row — a line
  16. row — to paddle
  17. shower — rain
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. march — the month
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. march — music

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