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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. game — a match
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. prune — to trim
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. march — music
  13. game — wild animals
  14. track — to keep track
  15. march — the month
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. track — a song
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. perch — the fish
  21. march — the month
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. track — a path

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