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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cold — not warm
  3. file — a tool
  4. cue — a hint
  5. hand — help
  6. mate — a partner
  7. foot — a measure
  8. march — music
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cold — an illness
  11. hand — in cards
  12. file — a document
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mate — a friend
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. march — the month
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. file — a line of people
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. cue — a signal
  24. mate — to breed

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