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: craft · perch · rush · stock · degree · cold · swing · bulb

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  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. craft — boats
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. swing — in golf
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bulb — for light
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bulb — for light
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. rush — hurry
  15. swing — to play on
  16. stock — goods
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. degree — temperature
  19. stock — shares
  20. perch — the fish
  21. swing — music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. craft — a skill
  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