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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cell — in biology
  3. fork — in a road
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wind — moving air
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. degree — temperature
  16. squash — to crush
  17. land — a country
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cell — a phone
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. degree — an amount
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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