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: hand · tube · bulb · perch · cold · racket · deal · squash

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. hand — in cards
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bulb — for light
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. perch — the fish
  13. hand — help
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — a container
  17. deal — to handle
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. squash — the sport
  23. cold — not warm
  24. squash — to crush

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