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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. clip — a video
  4. key — for a lock
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mark — a grade
  7. key — in music
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. key — the most important part
  12. mark — a trace
  13. clip — to cut
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. march — the month
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. deal — to handle
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. mark — to pay attention

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