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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pit — a hole
  4. last — final
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. march — music
  7. last — finally
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to click
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. capital — a city
  13. rash — a series
  14. drill — the tool
  15. pit — in a race
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. last — to go on
  20. march — the month
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. march — the month
  23. capital — money
  24. drill — army training

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