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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. land — to come down
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. land — a country
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. kid — child
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. land — ground
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. perch — the fish
  24. wax — to grow

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