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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cold — an illness
  4. perch — the fish
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. ground — a position
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — hurry
  15. ground — the earth
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. field — farmland
  18. cold — not warm

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