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 a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chair — a leader
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. root — the cause
  8. perch — the fish
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. game — wild animals
  11. root — of a plant
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. squash — to crush
  15. snap — to click
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. squash — the sport
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. row — a line
  23. root — of a word
  24. row — to paddle

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