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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cold — not warm
  4. chair — a leader
  5. net — for catching
  6. charge — electricity
  7. perch — the fish
  8. charge — a price
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. charge — in control
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. rash — hasty
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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