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: spring · ground · court · hide · perch · mine · chip · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. ground — crushed
  3. court — for sport
  4. perch — the fish
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. ground — the earth
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. ground — a position
  10. spring — the season
  11. court — of law
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. spring — of water
  19. mine — for digging
  20. court — of a king
  21. chip — to eat
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. mine — an explosive
  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