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: cue · cold · mate · swing · degree · perch · lash · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mate — a partner
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mate — a friend
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pit — a hole
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cue — a signal
  11. pit — in a race
  12. perch — the fish
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mate — to breed
  18. swing — in golf
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. cold — an illness
  21. degree — from a university
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. swing — music
  24. cold — not warm

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