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 120 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: squash · cold · drill · bark · perch · pitcher · kid · rash

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. drill — army training
  11. rash — a series
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. drill — the tool
  18. squash — the sport
  19. kid — child
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. squash — to crush
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. squash — the vegetable

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