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

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. drill — the tool
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. season — in sport
  8. perch — the fish
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cold — an illness
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — not warm
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stock — shares
  20. kick — in football
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — goods
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. wind — moving air

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