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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. rash — a series
  3. march — the month
  4. band — a music group
  5. face — to point toward
  6. court — of law
  7. band — a ring
  8. can — a tin
  9. race — humankind
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. clip — a video
  12. race — a contest
  13. rash — hasty
  14. can — a tin
  15. court — for sport
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. march — the month
  19. face — to confront
  20. court — of a king
  21. race — the arms race
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. can — to be able to

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