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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. present — there
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. march — the month
  4. file — a line of people
  5. present — the time now
  6. march — music
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rock — a stone
  9. present — a gift
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. rock — music
  14. bass — low music
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  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