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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kid — to tease
  5. board — a committee
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. stock — goods
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pop — to visit
  10. spring — the season
  11. bulb — for light
  12. pop — music
  13. board — to get on
  14. pop — soda
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. perch — the fish
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bulb — for light
  19. stock — shares
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. spring — of water
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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