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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cap — of ice
  6. perch — the fish
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. face — to confront
  9. foot — a measure
  10. face — to point toward
  11. field — a subject
  12. cold — an illness
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cap — a hat
  15. field — farmland
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. field — for sport
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. racket — a loud noise

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