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: court · fan · tube · wound · mug · land · season · perch

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. perch — the fish
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a face
  8. court — for sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mug — a cup
  12. tube — a container
  13. season — in sport
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. tube — the underground
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. court — of a king
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. court — of law
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. season — of the year

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