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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. perch — the fish
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. spell — magic
  5. craft — boats
  6. land — ground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. content — the amount
  10. track — to keep track
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — a short time
  13. content — happy
  14. track — a song
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. game — a match
  17. tube — a container
  18. track — a path
  19. tube — the underground
  20. craft — a skill
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. game — wild animals
  23. land — to come down
  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