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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bark — to shout
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. season — in sport
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. scale — size or range
  11. degree — temperature
  12. capital — a city
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. degree — an amount
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. land — a country
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — in music
  22. land — ground
  23. capital — money
  24. season — of the year

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