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: bark · degree · object · can · clip · band · roll · mouse

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. can — a tin
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. band — a ring
  10. object — to protest
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. object — an aim
  13. roll — a cake
  14. band — a music group
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. roll — a list
  19. degree — from a university
  20. object — a thing
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bark — to shout
  23. can — a tin
  24. band — a rubber band

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