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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. shower — to wash
  3. season — of the year
  4. ball — a great time
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. current — electric
  8. fall — the season
  9. current — happening now
  10. chest — of your body
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chest — of your body
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. chest — a box
  17. current — of water
  18. ball — a dance
  19. scale — in music
  20. season — in sport
  21. perch — the fish
  22. shower — rain
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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