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: perch · prune · bark · season · clip · land · lie · file

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. land — a country
  3. clip — for paper
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. file — a tool
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. season — of the year
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. file — a document
  12. season — in sport
  13. clip — a video
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. bark — to shout
  17. land — to come down
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. land — ground
  20. prune — to trim
  21. perch — the fish
  22. clip — to cut
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. file — a line of people

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