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 120 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. track — a path
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wound — an injury
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bound — obliged
  11. cell — in biology
  12. game — a match
  13. cell — a phone
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bound — certain
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. perch — the fish
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. track — a song
  23. tear — to rip
  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