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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. perch — the fish
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. tear — to rip
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. prune — to trim
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. capital — a city
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. capital — money
  22. prune — to trim
  23. kick — in football
  24. perch — for a bird

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