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 120 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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mine — for digging
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. perch — the fish
  16. march — the month
  17. tear — from crying
  18. march — the month
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. shower — rain
  21. scale — in music
  22. lean — thin
  23. tear — to rip
  24. scale — size or range

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