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: degree · straw · bark · tear · ground · cue · racket · wave

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. tear — from crying
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. ground — the earth
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bark — to shout
  9. degree — temperature
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. ground — crushed
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. ground — a position
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cue — for pool
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cue — a signal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cue — a hint

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