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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. last — finally
  3. march — the month
  4. fine — all right
  5. row — to paddle
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. row — a line
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. wound — an injury
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. march — music
  19. last — to go on
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. last — final
  24. fine — high quality

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