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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mate — a friend
  5. dip — to sink
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. last — finally
  11. mate — a partner
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. mate — to breed
  14. march — the month
  15. mark — a trace
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. march — music
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. last — to go on
  23. bat — the animal
  24. march — the month

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