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: capital · patient · cue · bark · pound · drill · squash · straw

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. pound — a weight
  7. cue — a hint
  8. capital — a city
  9. squash — to crush
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cue — a signal
  12. drill — army training
  13. squash — the sport
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cue — for pool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. capital — money
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pound — to hit hard

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