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: land · rush · perch · cold · stock · foot · band · straw

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. land — to come down
  5. band — a ring
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. cold — not warm
  9. perch — the fish
  10. band — a music group
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. cold — an illness
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. land — ground
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. stock — goods
  19. rush — hurry
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. land — a country
  24. straw — a straw man

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