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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. land — to come down
  4. track — a song
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. perch — the fish
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. track — to keep track
  12. bark — to shout
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wound — an injury
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wound — an injury
  22. track — a path
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bark — of a tree

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