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: perch · wound · tube · hand · wake · track · current · field

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. current — of water
  5. wake — a trail
  6. hand — help
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. current — happening now
  9. hand — in cards
  10. perch — the fish
  11. wound — an injury
  12. track — a path
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. wound — an injury
  16. field — a subject
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. tube — a container
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. tube — the underground
  21. current — electric
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. track — to keep track

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