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: perch · fine · branch · cold · patient · march · degree · hand

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. branch — a division
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. cold — an illness
  10. perch — the fish
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. degree — an amount
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. hand — in cards
  16. degree — temperature
  17. march — the month
  18. fine — all right
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. degree — from a university
  21. hand — help
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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