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: bat · perch · land · squash · bulb · lean · club · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. squash — the sport
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. club — for golf
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. lean — thin
  13. land — ground
  14. squash — to crush
  15. degree — temperature
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. land — a country
  20. bulb — for light
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. land — to come down
  24. lean — to bend

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