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 116 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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. scale — size or range
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — for golf
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. shower — rain
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. shower — to wash
  10. track — a path
  11. wax — to grow
  12. track — a song
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. perch — the fish
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. chair — a leader
  18. scale — in music
  19. row — a line
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. club — a group
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. row — to paddle

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