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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. saw — the tool
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. march — the month
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. degree — an amount
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. prune — to trim
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. march — the month
  19. saw — the tool
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spring — the season
  23. march — music
  24. spring — of water

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