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: cold · perch · bear · date · field · mug · spell · content

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. spell — a short time
  3. mug — a face
  4. spell — letters
  5. date — the fruit
  6. cold — an illness
  7. field — for sport
  8. content — happy
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bear — the animal
  12. content — the amount
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mug — a cup
  16. mug — to rob
  17. bear — the animal
  18. field — a subject
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. perch — the fish
  21. cold — not warm
  22. spell — magic
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. field — farmland

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