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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. march — music
  5. clip — a video
  6. march — the month
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wake — a trail
  9. chair — a leader
  10. mark — a trace
  11. perch — the fish
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. clip — to cut
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. game — a match
  18. game — wild animals
  19. march — the month
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bore — to drill
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. mark — a grade

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