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 116 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tube — the underground
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. tube — a container
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pitch — completely
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. rule — a law
  19. scale — in music
  20. rule — government
  21. scale — size or range
  22. perch — the fish
  23. clip — for paper
  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