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 124 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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cell — a phone
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. rule — government
  9. perch — the fish
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. clip — for paper
  15. scale — in music
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. scale — size or range
  18. rule — a law
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cell — in biology
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. sharp — exactly

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