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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. hand — help
  3. wind — moving air
  4. current — of water
  5. current — happening now
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. file — a line of people
  8. capital — money
  9. current — electric
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. file — a document
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. perch — the fish
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. wind — moving air

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