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: stand · spring · dip · cold · fan · perch · bowl · land

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  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. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. spring — the season
  5. dip — to sink
  6. cold — an illness
  7. spring — of water
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. perch — the fish
  14. land — to come down
  15. spring — a coil
  16. land — ground
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. land — a country
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. stand — to bear
  23. dip — a sauce
  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