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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. staff — a stick
  3. file — a document
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. staff — employees
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. file — a tool
  9. swing — music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. file — a line of people
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. staff — employees
  18. snap — to click
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cold — not warm
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wake — a trail
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cold — an illness

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