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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. cell — in biology
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — a measure
  9. spring — the season
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wound — an injury
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. spring — of water
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. perch — the fish
  23. spring — a coil
  24. foot — part of the body

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