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

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. drill — army training
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. drill — the tool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. content — the amount
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mine — for digging
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. content — happy
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. drill — a practice
  17. chest — of your body
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. chest — a box
  20. stand — to bear
  21. clip — to cut
  22. perch — the fish
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. clip — a video

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