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: pound · racket · land · clip · tear · pitcher · foot · perch

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. perch — the fish
  3. clip — a video
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pound — a weight
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. foot — a measure
  13. land — ground
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. tear — from crying

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