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 116 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  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. cap — a lid
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. season — of the year
  4. bank — for money
  5. march — music
  6. file — a tool
  7. march — the month
  8. file — a document
  9. mine — for digging
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bank — for money
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cap — a hat
  15. season — in sport
  16. net — in sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. net — after costs
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cap — of ice
  21. net — for catching
  22. kid — child
  23. file — a line of people
  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