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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. game — wild animals
  3. march — the month
  4. cap — of ice
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. dip — to sink
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cap — a lid
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. cap — a hat
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. march — the month
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. shower — rain
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. shower — to wash

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