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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mug — to rob
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mug — a cup
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. march — the month
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. date — the fruit
  21. branch — a division
  22. mug — a face
  23. content — the amount
  24. branch — of a tree

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