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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. scale — in music
  3. race — the arms race
  4. march — music
  5. shower — to wash
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. march — the month
  8. wound — an injury
  9. game — wild animals
  10. race — a contest
  11. scale — size or range
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. game — a match
  19. spring — a coil
  20. shower — rain
  21. wound — an injury
  22. race — humankind
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — of water

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