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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. last — finally
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. rash — hasty
  5. saw — the tool
  6. row — a line
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. perch — the fish
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. march — music
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. saw — the tool
  15. last — final
  16. rash — a series
  17. last — to go on
  18. cell — in biology
  19. march — the month
  20. cell — a phone
  21. row — to paddle
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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