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 120 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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. net — after costs
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. net — for catching
  9. race — a contest
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. race — the arms race
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. perch — the fish
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bulb — for light
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. net — in sport
  23. race — humankind
  24. bulb — for light

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