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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. march — music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. march — the month
  7. cap — a hat
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bark — to shout
  10. mug — a cup
  11. fall — the season
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cap — a lid
  14. fall — to drop
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cap — of ice
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mug — to rob
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. march — the month
  23. wound — an injury
  24. straw — a straw man

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