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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. kick — in football
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. file — a document
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. march — music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. tube — a container
  21. tear — to rip
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. tube — the underground

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