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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. stock — shares
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wax — to grow
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. stock — goods
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. charge — a price
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. wind — moving air
  22. charge — electricity
  23. charge — in control
  24. perch — for a bird

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