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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pop — soda
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. spell — magic
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. pop — music
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. fine — high quality
  12. pop — to visit
  13. cold — not warm
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spell — a short time
  18. fine — all right
  19. spell — letters
  20. mine — for digging
  21. perch — the fish
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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