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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. roll — a list
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. track — to keep track
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. row — a line
  12. perch — the fish
  13. wind — moving air
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. track — a song
  17. roll — a cake
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. track — a path
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. row — to paddle

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