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: chair · pitcher · clip · mark · rash · degree · vault · perch

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. degree — from a university
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rash — a series
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. vault — a safe
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rash — hasty
  14. perch — the fish
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. chair — a leader
  18. mark — a grade
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. mark — a trace
  23. degree — an amount
  24. clip — a video

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