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: perch · fan · season · pitcher · rush · stock · squash · ground

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. squash — the sport
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. season — of the year
  5. rush — hurry
  6. perch — the fish
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. ground — a position
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. stock — goods
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. ground — crushed
  15. stock — shares
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. season — in sport
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. ground — the earth

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