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 120 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 · pitcher · shower · file · spring · fork · chip · swing

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. file — a line of people
  7. chip — to eat
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. swing — in golf
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. swing — music
  12. fork — in a road
  13. swing — to play on
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. spring — the season
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. perch — the fish
  18. file — a tool
  19. shower — rain
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. file — a document

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