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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. race — the arms race
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. deal — to handle
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. file — a document
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. drill — army training
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. spring — a coil
  17. drill — the tool
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. file — a line of people
  20. drill — a practice
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. file — a tool

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