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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. spell — letters
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. field — farmland
  7. scale — size or range
  8. tube — a container
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. field — a subject
  12. perch — the fish
  13. field — for sport
  14. cold — an illness
  15. scale — in music
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. spell — magic
  18. cold — not warm
  19. tube — the underground
  20. vault — a safe
  21. spell — a short time
  22. wound — an injury
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. perch — for a bird

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