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: bear · cell · chair · perch · straw · roll · land · ground

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bear — the animal
  3. ground — the earth
  4. land — to come down
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. ground — a position
  7. perch — the fish
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chair — a leader
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. ground — crushed
  17. roll — a list
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bear — the animal
  21. cell — in biology
  22. land — a country
  23. cell — a phone
  24. roll — a cake

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