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: rule · club · spring · face · degree · bark · pop · wind

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  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. face — part of the head
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rule — government
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. rule — a law
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. club — for golf
  10. face — to confront
  11. club — a group
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pop — music
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pop — to visit
  17. degree — an amount
  18. spring — of water
  19. club — for dancing
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pop — soda
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. face — to point toward
  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