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: stem · cabinet · stand · field · cold · spring · wind · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. spring — the season
  3. cold — an illness
  4. field — farmland
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. field — for sport
  15. spring — of water
  16. perch — the fish
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. field — a subject
  24. spring — a coil

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