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: current · hide · bowl · stem · chip · hand · perch · land

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. land — a country
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. current — of water
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. land — ground
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. perch — the fish
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. current — electric
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. stem — to come from
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. current — happening now
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. land — to come down
  24. stem — of a plant

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