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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. field — for sport
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cap — a hat
  5. field — a subject
  6. rush — hurry
  7. court — of law
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. field — farmland
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cap — of ice
  13. perch — the fish
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. court — for sport
  16. march — the month
  17. cap — a lid
  18. march — music
  19. court — of a king
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. march — the month
  24. rush — to hurry

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