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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — a short time
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. staff — a stick
  6. kid — child
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. ball — a great time
  11. perch — the fish
  12. staff — employees
  13. ground — a position
  14. game — a match
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. spell — magic
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ground — crushed
  19. kid — to tease
  20. game — wild animals
  21. ground — the earth
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. staff — employees

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