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 120 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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. game — a match
  3. prune — to trim
  4. season — in sport
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. perch — the fish
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. scale — size or range
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. season — of the year
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stem — to come from
  24. scale — in music

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