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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. spring — of water
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. degree — from a university
  6. firm — decided
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — not warm
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a face
  16. plane — a tool
  17. spring — the season
  18. mug — a cup
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. cold — an illness
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. firm — steady
  24. firm — a company

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