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: cold · season · game · court · key · plane · bore · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. season — in sport
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cold — an illness
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. game — a match
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. court — for sport
  16. plane — a tool
  17. court — of law
  18. key — the most important part
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — in music
  23. court — of a king
  24. game — wild animals

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