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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. scale — in music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. swing — to play on
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. march — music
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. swing — music
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. shower — to wash
  20. scale — size or range
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. cold — an illness

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