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 116 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. perch — the fish
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. cell — in biology
  6. capital — money
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. field — for sport
  13. branch — a division
  14. field — farmland
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. field — a subject
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bowl — a football final

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