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 ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. net — for catching
  3. row — a line
  4. net — in sport
  5. rest — a break
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pit — a hole
  8. perch — the fish
  9. rest — what's left
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. field — for sport
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. field — farmland
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pit — in a race
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. net — after costs
  20. field — a subject
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. bat — the animal
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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