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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. club — for golf
  4. cap — a lid
  5. club — for dancing
  6. cap — a hat
  7. perch — the fish
  8. club — a group
  9. cap — of ice
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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