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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. march — music
  3. spell — magic
  4. land — ground
  5. perch — the fish
  6. march — the month
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. land — to come down
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — music
  15. spell — letters
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. spell — a short time
  19. march — the month
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. land — a country
  22. pop — to visit
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. branch — of a bank

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