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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. land — ground
  3. drill — a practice
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. tear — from crying
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. tear — to rip
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. present — there
  12. drill — the tool
  13. present — a gift
  14. land — a country
  15. drill — army training
  16. present — the time now
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. scale — size or range
  19. land — to come down
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. tear — from crying
  22. sharp — clever
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. sharp — exactly

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