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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. net — after costs
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. field — for sport
  8. rash — a series
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. net — in sport
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bark — to shout
  17. chip — for betting
  18. net — for catching
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cell — a phone
  21. field — a subject
  22. cell — in biology
  23. chip — to eat
  24. perch — the fish

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