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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. clip — a video
  4. mark — a grade
  5. lean — thin
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mark — a trace
  8. cold — not warm
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. perch — the fish
  15. land — to come down
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. land — ground
  19. lean — to bend
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. clip — to cut
  24. land — a country

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