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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bat — the animal
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. face — part of the head
  10. scale — size or range
  11. face — to point toward
  12. scale — in music
  13. content — happy
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. date — the fruit
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. content — the amount
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. face — to confront
  24. date — on the calendar

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