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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. mate — a friend
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. file — a line of people
  4. tear — to rip
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. fall — to drop
  9. file — a tool
  10. pass — a permit
  11. file — a document
  12. march — the month
  13. mate — to breed
  14. fall — to drop
  15. march — music
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. mate — a partner
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fall — the season
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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