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 116 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: saw · chair · bark · mine · clip · field · perch · key

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mine — for digging
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. key — the most important part
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. chair — a leader
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bark — to shout
  16. field — for sport
  17. saw — the tool
  18. field — farmland
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. key — for a lock
  22. clip — a video
  23. key — in music
  24. field — a subject

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