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: fine · march · club · degree · chest · leaves · patient · spell

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. fine — all right
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — letters
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spell — magic
  12. march — the month
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chest — a box
  16. club — for golf
  17. degree — from a university
  18. march — music
  19. chest — of your body
  20. march — the month
  21. club — a group
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. degree — temperature
  24. club — for dancing

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