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

Word bank: perch · last · field · face · ball · present · prune · leaves

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. face — to point toward
  4. ball — a great time
  5. perch — the fish
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. field — a subject
  9. present — the time now
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. face — part of the head
  12. present — a gift
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. prune — to trim
  16. face — to confront
  17. field — for sport
  18. ball — a dance
  19. present — there
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. prune — to trim
  22. last — finally
  23. field — farmland
  24. leaves — 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