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 · plane · hide · scale · content · pitcher · tear · wake

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. content — happy
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wake — a trail
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. plane — a tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. content — the amount
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. scale — in music
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. scale — size or range
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. tear — to rip
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. content — videos and posts

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