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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bat — the animal
  3. march — the month
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. shower — rain
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cold — not warm
  8. march — the month
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. club — a group
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — for dancing
  17. fork — in a road
  18. march — music
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ball — a great time
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. trunk — of a car

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