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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. spring — a coil
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spring — of water
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wax — to grow
  7. chest — of your body
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. squash — to crush
  13. land — ground
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. land — a country
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. kid — child
  18. perch — the fish
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. land — to come down
  23. spring — the season
  24. kid — to tease

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