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: bat · squash · ground · rest · date · bark · degree · wind

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. date — the fruit
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wind — moving air
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bark — to shout
  9. ground — the earth
  10. rest — what's left
  11. ground — a position
  12. rest — a break
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. rest — what's left
  20. degree — an amount
  21. ground — crushed
  22. squash — to crush
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wind — moving air

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