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: kick · fall · staff · perch · net · content · cold · field

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. perch — the fish
  5. staff — a stick
  6. field — a subject
  7. cold — an illness
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. fall — to drop
  10. field — for sport
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. staff — employees
  13. net — for catching
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fall — the season
  16. net — in sport
  17. content — the amount
  18. net — after costs
  19. content — happy
  20. field — farmland
  21. staff — employees
  22. fall — to drop
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cold — the Cold War

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