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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — a weight
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. fine — all right
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fine — high quality
  7. file — a tool
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. tear — from crying
  10. file — a line of people
  11. clip — a video
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — for paper
  14. file — a document
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wind — moving air
  21. clip — to cut
  22. tear — to rip
  23. saw — the tool
  24. fine — a penalty

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