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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. craft — a skill
  3. court — of law
  4. cold — not warm
  5. present — a gift
  6. court — for sport
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cold — an illness
  10. court — of a king
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chair — a leader
  13. perch — the fish
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — there
  18. craft — boats
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. mine — for digging
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. mine — an explosive

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