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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. march — the month
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. squash — the sport
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. date — the fruit
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. press — to push
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. court — of a king
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. press — newspapers
  17. court — for sport
  18. march — music
  19. squash — to crush
  20. march — the month
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. press — a publisher
  23. court — of law
  24. wound — an injury

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