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. The water is too ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bound — obliged
  3. track — a song
  4. bound — certain
  5. track — to keep track
  6. kid — child
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fine — all right
  13. track — a path
  14. kid — to tease
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cold — an illness
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. perch — the fish
  21. foot — a measure
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bound — tied together

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