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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. 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. rush — to hurry
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. file — a document
  5. drill — a practice
  6. rush — hurry
  7. file — a tool
  8. bulb — for light
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. drill — army training
  11. march — music
  12. land — to come down
  13. bulb — for light
  14. drill — the tool
  15. land — a country
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. land — ground
  18. 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