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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · mouse · rest · court · ground · perch · craft · cold

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. rest — a break
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. ground — crushed
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. rest — what's left
  11. ground — the earth
  12. present — there
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. craft — boats
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rest — what's left
  18. craft — a skill
  19. ground — a position
  20. present — a gift
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. court — of a king
  23. present — the time now
  24. perch — for a bird

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