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: wake · game · kid · perch · mate · mine · land · saw

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. saw — the tool
  6. land — a country
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. mate — a partner
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mate — to breed
  15. wake — a trail
  16. game — wild animals
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. game — a match
  24. perch — for a bird

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