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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. last — final
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bear — the animal
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. season — of the year
  11. file — a tool
  12. kid — child
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. file — a line of people
  16. saw — the tool
  17. perch — the fish
  18. last — finally
  19. season — in sport
  20. can — a tin
  21. file — a document
  22. last — to go on
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bear — the animal

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