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: field · lash · cold · rush · perch · root · ball · saw

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. cold — an illness
  3. field — farmland
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. root — of a plant
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cold — not warm
  9. root — the cause
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. root — of a word
  12. ball — a dance
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. ball — a great time
  17. field — for sport
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. saw — the tool
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rush — hurry
  22. perch — the fish
  23. field — a subject
  24. rush — a thrill

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