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: chair · shower · degree · perch · bear · pitcher · ground · hide

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. perch — the fish
  3. degree — an amount
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. degree — temperature
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. ground — crushed
  15. shower — rain
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bear — the animal
  20. degree — from a university
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. chair — a leader
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bear — the animal

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