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: perch · bark · fine · chip · clip · bay · dip · cold

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. chip — to eat
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. chip — for betting
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. cold — not warm
  10. clip — a video
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fine — high quality
  14. dip — to sink
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fine — all right

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