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: land · chair · bay · degree · field · last · game · perch

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. field — for sport
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. degree — from a university
  5. game — wild animals
  6. land — a country
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. last — final
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. field — a subject
  13. land — to come down
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. last — finally
  18. land — ground
  19. game — a match
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. last — to go on
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. perch — the fish
  24. field — farmland

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