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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. scale — in music
  3. stem — to come from
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. fine — high quality
  10. spring — of water
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cap — a hat
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cap — a lid
  17. fine — all right
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bass — the fish
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. spring — the season
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cold — an illness

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