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: wound · clip · perch · capital · can · land · hide · scale

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. capital — money
  3. land — ground
  4. scale — in music
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. scale — size or range
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. clip — to cut
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. perch — the fish
  13. wound — an injury
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. clip — a video
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. capital — a city
  18. wound — an injury
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. can — to be able to
  21. clip — for paper
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. can — a tin

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