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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mug — a cup
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. mug — to rob
  8. clip — to cut
  9. chest — of your body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mug — a face
  12. degree — temperature
  13. clip — a video
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. chest — a box
  16. perch — the fish
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. fall — the season
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. clip — for paper
  24. degree — from a university

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