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: tear · last · clip · mine · perch · charge · bark · saw

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. charge — a price
  4. tear — from crying
  5. saw — the tool
  6. clip — for paper
  7. charge — electricity
  8. last — to go on
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. last — finally
  12. tear — from crying
  13. charge — in control
  14. bark — to shout
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mine — for digging
  22. last — final
  23. perch — for a bird
  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