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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. court — for sport
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wake — a trail
  7. branch — a division
  8. shower — to wash
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. court — of law
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. row — a line
  15. scale — in music
  16. court — of a king
  17. rush — hurry
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. perch — the fish
  24. scale — size or range

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