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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: track · wax · stock · perch · leaves · game · content · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. stock — shares
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. last — to go on
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — to grow
  7. content — the amount
  8. track — a path
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. game — wild animals
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. content — happy
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. stock — goods
  19. perch — the fish
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a song
  23. last — finally
  24. leaves — to go away

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