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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mate — a partner
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. charge — electricity
  8. mate — a friend
  9. lean — thin
  10. charge — a price
  11. mate — to breed
  12. perch — the fish
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. field — farmland
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cell — in biology
  19. charge — in control
  20. field — for sport
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cell — a phone
  23. field — a subject
  24. band — a ring

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