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 120 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: hand · degree · swing · kick · branch · bark · track · pound

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. track — to keep track
  4. swing — to play on
  5. kick — in football
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. hand — in cards
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. branch — a division
  10. degree — from a university
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. degree — temperature
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. swing — music
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. track — a path
  19. bark — to shout
  20. degree — an amount
  21. track — a song
  22. hand — help
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — a weight

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