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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. lean — thin
  5. clip — to cut
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. deal — to handle
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. perch — the fish
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. face — to confront
  13. hand — help
  14. clip — for paper
  15. face — part of the head
  16. clip — a video
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. present — a gift
  22. face — to point toward
  23. present — there
  24. present — the time now

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