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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pop — to visit
  3. last — final
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pop — music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pop — soda
  8. object — an aim
  9. wax — to grow
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. chest — a box
  15. object — to protest
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. chest — of your body
  18. march — music
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. march — the month
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. object — a thing

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