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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. march — the month
  3. roll — a cake
  4. hand — help
  5. key — the most important part
  6. march — the month
  7. bore — to tire
  8. key — for a lock
  9. clip — for paper
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. roll — a list
  13. clip — a video
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. march — music
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. land — ground
  18. key — in music
  19. clip — to cut
  20. date — the fruit
  21. land — a country
  22. hand — in cards
  23. land — to come down
  24. bore — to drill

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