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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mate — a partner
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. game — a match
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a friend
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. game — wild animals
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. last — to go on
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. swing — to play on
  21. kid — to tease
  22. last — finally
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — music

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