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: trunk · perch · rash · lash · cold · pitcher · jam · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. perch — the fish
  6. cold — an illness
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. rash — a series
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. rash — hasty
  19. cold — not warm
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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