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 120 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: bark · pound · patient · rest · rule · court · fan · cold

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. rest — a break
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. rule — government
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rule — a law
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pound — a weight
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bark — to shout
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. court — of a king
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. fan — to cool the air

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