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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. clip — a video
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. key — in music
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. degree — an amount
  12. clip — to cut
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. key — for a lock
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. key — the most important part
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. clip — for paper
  23. perch — the fish
  24. cold — not warm

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