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: leaves · perch · game · can · cold · prune · ground · dip

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. dip — to sink
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. ground — crushed
  6. perch — the fish
  7. game — wild animals
  8. can — a tin
  9. ground — a position
  10. game — a match
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. cold — an illness
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. ground — the earth
  18. can — to be able to
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cold — not warm
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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