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: court · date · bank · bark · degree · chest · foot · spell

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. court — of law
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. foot — a measure
  5. bank — for money
  6. court — of a king
  7. bank — of a river
  8. chest — a box
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. degree — an amount
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bark — to shout
  15. degree — from a university
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. spell — a short time
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bank — for money
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. degree — temperature
  22. court — for sport
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

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