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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bear — the animal
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. game — a match
  6. bear — the animal
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cold — an illness
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. march — the month
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. march — the month
  15. cold — not warm
  16. march — music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. club — a group
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. club — for golf
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. season — of the year
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. game — wild animals

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