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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — the animal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. spring — the season
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spring — a coil
  9. chest — a box
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. spring — of water
  15. perch — the fish
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bat — for baseball

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