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

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. squash — the sport
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. bass — low music
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bat — the animal
  15. squash — to crush
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rash — a series
  20. march — the month
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bass — the fish
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. rash — on the skin

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