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 · game · bark · perch · pound · patient · chair · fan

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. game — a match
  3. degree — from a university
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pound — a weight
  17. perch — the fish
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bark — to shout
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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