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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. march — the month
  7. pitch — completely
  8. kid — child
  9. cap — a hat
  10. fork — in a road
  11. band — a ring
  12. drill — army training
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cap — of ice
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. band — a music group
  20. march — music
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. cap — a lid
  24. march — the month

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