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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cell — a phone
  4. chair — a leader
  5. march — the month
  6. swing — to play on
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. march — the month
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bulb — for light
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cell — in biology
  15. swing — music
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. swing — in golf
  20. march — music
  21. bulb — for light
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bulb — of a plant

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