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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. march — the month
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. press — a publisher
  10. last — to go on
  11. ground — a position
  12. march — music
  13. ground — crushed
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. press — to push
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. march — the month
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. press — newspapers
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. fall — the season
  24. ground — the earth

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