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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. kid — child
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. shower — rain
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. perch — the fish
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. field — farmland
  14. file — a tool
  15. field — for sport
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pitch — completely
  19. field — a subject
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. shower — to wash
  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