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: degree · roll · spring · perch · wake · bowl · prune · kid

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — a trail
  7. kid — to tease
  8. degree — from a university
  9. spring — the season
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. roll — a list
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. spring — a coil
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. degree — an amount
  20. roll — a cake
  21. prune — to trim
  22. degree — temperature
  23. kid — child
  24. perch — the fish

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