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 · bat · wound · swing · field · land · rest · leaves

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. swing — in golf
  4. land — to come down
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. field — for sport
  11. land — a country
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. land — ground
  17. rest — what's left
  18. swing — music
  19. perch — the fish
  20. wound — an injury
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bat — the animal
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bat — in an idiom

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