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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. cold — an illness
  3. saw — the tool
  4. scale — size or range
  5. shower — rain
  6. scale — in music
  7. dip — to sink
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. clip — a video
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. shower — to wash
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. saw — the tool
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. clip — for paper
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. cold — not warm
  22. clip — to cut
  23. trunk — of a car
  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