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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. perch — the fish
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. swing — to play on
  6. face — part of the head
  7. swing — in golf
  8. land — to come down
  9. wind — moving air
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. land — ground
  12. root — of a word
  13. land — a country
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. face — to confront
  16. wind — moving air
  17. root — of a plant
  18. face — to point toward
  19. root — the cause
  20. field — farmland
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. swing — music
  23. calf — a young animal
  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