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: squash · clip · pitch · spring · arm · plane · perch · rush

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. spring — of water
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. squash — to crush
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. spring — a coil
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — a tool
  13. spring — the season
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. pitch — completely
  17. perch — the fish
  18. squash — the sport
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. rush — hurry
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  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