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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. game — wild animals
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. spell — magic
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. cold — not warm
  9. game — a match
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. spell — letters
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. spell — a short time
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cold — an illness
  22. perch — the fish
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. trunk — of a tree

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