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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. pound — a weight
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. march — music
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. clip — for paper
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. perch — the fish
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. march — the month
  13. capital — a city
  14. march — the month
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. capital — money
  18. clip — to cut
  19. lie — to recline
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. clip — a video
  24. game — wild animals

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