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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bound — certain
  3. track — a song
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wound — an injury
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bound — obliged
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitch — completely
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wound — an injury
  19. perch — the fish
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. track — a path
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bound — tied together

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